An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion

Readings from the Avesta

and Achaemenid Inscriptions
 To
Kees W. Bolle

Minnesota Publications in the Humanities, Volume Two

A series of books published with
the financial assistance of the Graduate School
and the College of Liberal Arts of
the University of Minnesota.
 AN
INTRODUCTION
TO ANCIENT
IRANIAN RELIGION
Readings from
the Avesta and Achaemenid Inscriptions

Translated and Edited by

WILLIAM W. MALANDRA

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS

Minneapolis
 Copyright © 1983 by the University of Minnesota.
All rights reserved.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press,
2037 University Avenue Southeast, Minneapolis, MN 55414
Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Avesta. Selections. English
An introduction to ancient Iranian religion.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Iran—Religion—Addresses, essays, lectures.
2. Zoroastrianism—Addresses, essays, lectures.
I. Malandra, William W. II. Title.
BL1515.2.E53 1983 295'.82 82-21784
ISBN 0-8166-1114-9
ISBN 0-8166-1115-7 (pbk.)

The preparation of this volume

was made possible in part by a grant from
the Translations Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities,
an independent federal agency.

The University of Minnesota

is an equal-opportunity educator
and employer.
 Preface

A lthough there are several good handbooks on Zoroastrianism in

English as well as others in French and German, there is little in
the way of primary textual material easily available to the non-
specialist. The present work is designed especially to provide a selection
of texts from the most ancient period of Iran's recorded religious history,
presented in a modern English translation. While it can hardly be the role
of this anthology to provide an account of the Zoroastrian religion in great
depth and detail, an outline of the religion in its historical, cultural, and
spiritual setting is given by way of introduction, and the various selections
are accompanied by sufficient commentary of a general nature as to pro-
vide students with a basic orientation as they make their way through the
often difficult material. Thus, the book is intended not simply as a reader,
a bare collection of texts, but also as an introduction to the more ancient
forms of Zoroastrianism. The study of Zoroastrianism is an unusually
complicated undertaking, however, owing to a variety of factors, which
are discussed in the Introduction. Students who encounter Zoroastrian-
ism for the first time will inevitably find the going rough unless they have
some previous acquaintance with the methods of the history of religions
and also some knowledge of ancient Indian religion of the Vedic period.
In keeping with the purpose of the present work, I have tried to operate
with a minimum of presuppositions, yet inevitably I have been forced to
assume a certain level of sophistication on the part of the reader; other-
wise the work would have far exceeded reasonable bounds.
I have included some Gathic material as well as excerpts from the
Achaemenid inscriptions, yet most of the reading selections are taken
from the Younger Avesta, mainly from the Yashts. My choice of texts
was governed by two considerations. First, I wanted to present a wide
enough variety to give an idea of the range of texts contained in the
Avesta. Second, I wanted to present texts that I consider to be important
and at the same time the most interesting. If a disproportionately large
V
 vi I Preface

amount of space is given to the Yashts, it is because they are, generally

speaking, the most interesting texts and because they contain within
themselves much of the variety found in the Avesta as a whole. Converse-
ly, if a disproportionately small amount of space has been allotted to
Zarathushtra's own compositions, the Gathas, it is because of two fac-
tors. One is that they are already available in two modern English transla-
tions by Duchesne-Guillemin and Insler (see Bibliography); the other is
that the Gathas are perhaps the most obscure and ambiguous composi-
tions of all oriental religious literature. Almost every Gathic passage is
capable of multiple interpretations, and in many cases the words defy
comprehension. To appreciate the magnitude of the problem, one need
only compare the numerous translations that already exist. So widely do
they often differ from one another on many passages that one could be
skeptical that they all translate the same original text! Not wishing to
present the reader with many uncertain translations, I have chosen a few
Gathas and Gathic stanzas whose interpretation is as clear as could be
hoped for under the circumstances and which contain important ideas
expressed in Zarathushtra's own individual style. Because the anthology
is deliberately limited to texts in Old Iranian languages, two important
sources for the study of Zoroastrianism have been excluded. These are
the notices by classical (Latin and Greek) authors on "Persian" religion
and the wealth of material contained in the Pahlavi books. While it is true
that many Pahlavi works are or purport to be translations of lost Avestan
originals, the recensions in which they are known to us date from the
ninth century A.D. For this reason, they must be used with extreme care
as evidence for the earlier forms of the religion. Their inclusion here
would have necessitated long and highly technical discussions inappropri-
ate to the aims of the present work. In regard to the classical sources,
since they are accounts of Iranian religion rather than translations of
texts, they, too, are inappropriate to a source book based on original
texts. Nevertheless, as the reader will discover, limited use of both Pahla-
vi and classical sources is made in the course of the Introduction and the
various commentaries to the reading selections.
A final note is in order concerning my transliteration of Iranian and Old
Indian words. In the case of Old Indian, I follow the generally adopted
system of transliteration. The transliteration of Old Iranian words is
another matter. In the scientific literature one finds various systems in use
for Old Persian and Avestan. For Old Persian, I have generally followed
the system established by W. Hinz in his Neue Wege im Altpersischen,
with the exception that v is replaced by my w. For Avestan, I have
generally followed the system of Chr. Bartholomae in his Altiranisches
Worterbuch, with the following important exceptions: v = w, w = v.
 Preface I vii

These changes are in the spirit of K. Hoffman's system (Festgabe

deutscher Iranisten zur 2500 Jahrfeier Irans [Stuttgart, 1971], pp. 64-73),
though I avoid his cumbersome representation of w by uu and y by // (like
Bartholomae, I do not distinguish initial and medial w and y). By repre-
senting the bilabial semivowel with w, I wish to emphasize that it is not a
fricative. The drawback to this is, of course, that many familiar names
like Vdta, Var&hraghna, etc., become Wata, Wardthraghna, etc. Estab-
lished words in English like Pahlavi are retained as such rather than
Pahlawi. A key to transliteration and pronunciation is provided on p. ix.
Several notes to the reader are necessary to facilitate the use of the
anthology. Since it is intended for the nonspecialist who cannot read the
texts in the original Avestan and Old Persian, no philological apparatus is
included. Furthermore, the Introduction and the individual commentaries
have been written primarily for those not intimately acquainted with the
field of the history of Iranian religion. As a consequence, numerous con-
troversial issues have been glossed over, and reference to various perso-
nalities has been kept to a minimum. I have attempted throughout to
present a sober picture of the religion and to avoid extravagant theories
that have not gained acceptance. Nevertheless, opinions divergent from
my own are noted wherever necessary. The reader who wishes to pursue
any topic in greater depth will find references in the bibliographies to the
most pertinent literature. Many terms, minor deities, historical figures
and dynasties, texts, technical terms, and the like are listed in the Glos-
sary for easy reference. In addition, the index should be consulted for
cross references and location of topics.
I would like to thank my colleague, Prof. Bruce Lincoln, for his com-
ments on an earlier draft of the manuscript, and also to express my
gratitude to Prof. Richard N. Frye and Dr. Firoze M. Kotwal, who
offered many constructive suggestions on the improvement of the text.
Partial assistance in writing was given in the form of a Summer Research
Grant by the Regents of the University of Minnesota and by the National
Endowment for the Humanities. Finally and above all, I must thank my
wife, Geri Hockfield, for help in the preparation of the manuscript and for
her many valuable comments during the course of its writing.
 Abbreviations and Symbols
Abbreviations
Ace Accadian NHG New High German
Aog Aogsmadaeca (a late NPers New Persian
Av text) Ny Nyayishn (part of the
Av Avestan Avesta)
Celt Celtic OChSl Old Church Slavonic
DB Darius, Behistan OInd Old Indian
DNa Darius, Naqsh-i Rustam a Olrish Old Irish
DPd Darius, Persepolis d OPers Old Persian
DSf Darius, Susaf Phi Pahlavi
Elam Elamite RV Rgveda
Fr French Skt Sanskrit
Ger German Ved Vedic
Goth Gothic Vend Vendidad
IE Indo-European XPc Xerxes, Persepolis c
Ilr Indo-Iranian XPh Xerxes, Persepolis h
Ir Iranian Y Yasna
Lat Latin YAv Young Avestan
Lith Lithuanian Yt Yasht
MPers Middle Persian

Symbols
[ ] in the translations indicate a gloss or interpolation.
( ) in the translations indicate additions by the
translator to clarify the meaning.
* indicates a reconstructed word.

Vlll
 Key to Transliteration
and Pronunciation
The simple vowels a, e, i, o, u are pronounced approximately as in
German; the macron (") indicates that the vowel is metrically long. The
two combinations ae and ao are diphthongs, pronounced approximately
as in Engl b/te and out respectively. With the exception of the letters
listed below, all other letters are pronounced as in English. Note: In order
to make Avestan names and words less formidable, the following devia-
tions from the standard transliterations are employed:
7 = gh, 0 = th, 8 = dh, s = sh, z = zh; g, rj = ng; £ = v;
xw = xw; t = t
Old Persian is pronounced approximately like Avestan with the exception
of 9 = Engl s.
macron (indicates a long ngh ng-h
vowel: a, e, etc.) c Engl church
d Engl bwt (capitalized as 3) th Engl thing
a Engl saw dh Engl that
a Fr enfant w Dutch water (a bilabial
x Ger ac/i semivowel, similar to
xw x with w immediately Engl v but not a fricative)
following sh Engl show
gh voiced x zh Frje
The following letters are found in Sanskrit and reconstructed Indo-
European words:
u IE: labial semivowel
r IE and Skt: a vowel, in Skt usually pronounced as ri
g IE: a voiced unaspirated palatal stop
h Skt: an aspirate, approximately Engl h
m Skt: indicates nasalization
n, n Skt: palatal and cerebral nasals, approximately Engl n
s, s Skt: palatal and cerebral sibilants, approximately Engl sh
t Skt: an unvoiced, unaspirated cerebral stop, approximately Engl t

IX
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 Contents
Preface v
Abbreviations and Symbols... viii
Key to Transliteration and Pronunciation ix
Introduction 3

Reading Selections
1. Zarathushtra 35
The Cow's Lament (Y. 29) 35
Yasna 29 38
The Two Spirits (Y. 30.3-6; Y. 45.2) 39
Yasna 30.3-6 40
Yasna 45.2 40
Zarathushtra Questions Ahura Mazda (Y. 44) 41
Yasna 44 42
2. Ahura Mazda 44
Inscriptions of Darius I 48
Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd) Yasht (Yt. 1) 51
3. Mithra 55
Mithra (Mihr) Yasht (Yt. 10) 59
4. Rashnu 76
Rashnu (Rashn) Yasht (Yt. 12) 79
5. Wsrgthraghna 80
Warothraghna (Wahram) Yasht (Yt. 14) 82
6. Xwaranah 88
Xwarsnah (Zamyad) Yasht (Yt. 19) 89
xi
 xii I Contents

7. Wayu 97
Wayu (Ram) Yasht (Yt. 15) 98
8. The Frawashis 102
Frawashi (Frawardm) Yasht (Yt. 13) 105
9. Aradwl Sura Anahita 117
Arsdwl Sura Anahita (Aban) Yasht (Yt. 5) 120
10. Ashi 130
Ashi (Ard) Yasht (Yt. 17) 131
11. Sraosha 135
Sraosha (Srosh) Yasht (Y. 57) 137
12. Tishtrya 140
Tishtrya (Tishtar) Yasht (Yt. 8) 143
13. Haoma 150
Haoma (Horn) Yasht (Y. 9, 10, 11) 151
14. Atar 159
Yasna 62 160
15. Purity and Pollution 162
Vendidad 5.1-44 164
Vendidad 7.1-4, 9-15, 23-27 168
Vendidad 7.53-58 169
Vendidad 9 170
Vendidad 16 173
16. Yima 175
Vendidad 2 178
17. Miscellanea: Sacred Prayers 182
(Yenghe hatam; Yatha ahu wairyo; Asham wohu; Ny. 1.16)
Notes 184
Glossary 186
Bibliography 189
Index 192
An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion
Readings from the Avesta
and Achaemenid Inscriptions
This page intentionally left blank
 Introduction

B efore the Buddha, before Christ and Muhammad, in a remote area

of Iran a unique individual emerged from the anonymity of his
traditional tribal culture to preach a new gospel, one that was
destined to become the foundation of Iranian spirituality for more than a
millennium. Like the Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad, he had the vision
of transforming his inherited religion into a new faith. His name was
Zarathushtra (Zoroaster in the West), and the religious vision to which he
gave expression is known as Zoroastrianism, a religion whose roots go
back to the beginning of the second millennium B.C. It is still practiced
today by perhaps a hundred thousand people, living mostly in India and in
smaller numbers in Iran. In antiquity it was one of the dominant religions
of the world. Its influence can be seen in Judaism (and Christianity), in
Manichaeism and other forms of gnosticism, in Northern (Mahdyana)
Buddhism, and in Islam. Although its influence in the world came to an
end during the seventh century A.D. with the Arab conquest of Iran and
the subsequent centuries of repression and persecution under Islam, a
small core of the faithful steadfastly has maintained its traditions and
preserved a small corpus of its sacred texts down to the present. Despite
its venerable age and its important place within the history of world
religions, Zoroastrianism remains little known to all but a small number of
philologists and historians of religions. A student of classics might recall
encountering a reference to a Persian Magus named Zoroaster, who lived
six thousand years before Plato; or a student in a world religions course
might remember something about the fire worshippers of ancient Iran. In
the nineteenth century, the name of Iran's great prophet became widely
known thanks to Friedrich Nietzsche's famous philosophic tract Also
Sprach Zarathustra. But in any case almost nothing of substance con-
cerning Zarathushtra or the complex religious situation of ancient Iran has
made its way into our intellectual culture. In fact, what few ideas people
do entertain about these matters are either superficial generalizations, as
3
 4 I Introduction

in the case of the beliefs about fire worship, or wanton distortions, as in

the case of Nietzsche's figure.
Any religion built upon a foundation so solid as to endure for three
millennia through periods of prosperity and deprivation alike is certainly
initially worthy of more than passing notice. For those who heed the call,
the rewards are great, for in Zoroastrianism one encounters, often in
confusing complexity, the historical records of a religion that not only
dominated the spiritual life of the Iranian people for centuries, but also
affected other religions in crucial ways.
Zoroastrianism is the name most usually applied to the religious com-
plex of ancient Iran. The term should be used in a more restricted sense,
however, since not all ancient Iranian religion was Zoroastrian. To be
precise, it is necessary to distinguish between a number of religious
phases, one of which will be characterized as Zoroastrian. The most
ancient phase to be discussed encompasses a religion that goes back well
into the third millennium B.C., to a time when the related Indo-Aryans and
Iranians still composed a single group. This Indo-Iranian religion is a
hypothetical reconstruction, based primarily on the texts of the Iranian
Avesta and the Indian Rgveda. In the course of time the Indo-Iranians
divided; one group, the Indo-Aryans, migrated to India and parts of the
Near East, the other, the Iranians, settled throughout the Iranian plateau.
The religion of these Iranians is known as Old Iranian. It too must be
reconstructed, again primarily on the basis of the Avesta and to a lesser
degree on that of the Achaemenid inscriptions, notices in classical au-
thors, and diverse other scraps of evidence. The reformed religion of the
prophet is termed Zarathushtrianism. After the prophet's death, his reli-
gion underwent a period of change, the final outcome of which was a
national religion made up of Zarathushtrianism and many elements of the
Old Iranian religion that were reintroduced, contrary to the original re-
form. This final, rather eclectic religion, which is the source of almost the
entire Avesta, is Zoroastrianism} The religion incidently referred to in
the Achaemenid inscriptions is the subject of controversy, since it cannot
be proved whether or not the "Great Kings," Darius and Xerxes, were
influenced by Zarathushtra. It may be easiest simply to leave the question
open by calling their religion Old Persian.

Indo-Iranian Religion
A religion never has an absolute beginning. When one speaks of the
'beginnings" of Hinduism or Christianity or Zoroastrianism, one may
 Introduction I 5

have in mind the date of a founder such as Jesus or Zarathushtra; or one

may be referring to the oldest texts of the religion, such as the Rgveda in
the case of Hinduism. Yet these "beginnings" are really no more than
points in history that owe their existence to events still farther in the past.
Unfortunately, the historical documents go back only so far. The limita-
tions imposed on one's knowledge of a particular tradition by the very
limitations of the evidence force one to accept arbitrary dates for the
beginnings of these ancient traditions. That one's sources may be five
hundred or a thousand years earlier than another's is of no consequence,
since—no matter where the cutoff date may lie—the sources themselves
presuppose an already long and complex tradition. As the readings in this
anthology suggest, the most ancient documents of Old Iranian religion are
already as complex and confusing as one could wish.
Sometimes the oldest sources do present an absolute limit beyond
which one cannot penetrate. Often, however, one can push back the
limits of texts through the process of comparative historical reconstruc-
tion. Ancient cultures did not exist in isolation, but were either related
generically to or influenced by contact with other cultures. Study of the
documents of such related traditions can often greatly augment one's
knowledge of the culture that one is studying. Let me offer two examples
to illustrate the point. (1) Old Iranian possesses a word, Av* daewa,
OPers *daiwa meaning 'demon' or 'false or hostile god'. Other terms used
by related peoples include OInd deva 'heavenly; god'; Lat deus 'god'; Olr
dia 'god'; and ONorse tivar 'gods'. The differences in meaning between
the Iranian terms and their counterparts in other languages suggest that,
in the course of Iranian religious history, certain changes have taken place
in ideology that have led to a demonization of the gods. I shall return to
this problem shortly; for now one need only note that one can safely
reconstruct a history of daewa/daiwa, at least to the extent that one
knows that the word originally meant 'god', not 'demon'. (2) The myth of
Yima and his wara (see sect. 15) contains, among other themes, a
"Noah's ark" motif. Since this myth seems to be of Semitic origin, one
can postulate an Iranian borrowing from Near Eastern cultures. Through-
out the present work, I shall make extensive use of the comparative
method. While the method is immensely useful, in fact indispensable, it
must be kept in mind that its limitation is that it presents hypothetical
reconstructions. Sometimes these reconstructions rest on very solid
ground, as in the case of daewa/daiwa; more often than not they are less
secure.
The geographical name Iran (older Eran) derives from an ancient ex-
*Avestan. Abbreviations for linguistic sources are given on p. viii.
 6 I Introduction

pression found in the Avesta by which the Iranians designated their own
territory, airyana waejah, meaning 'expanse, territory of the Aryas'. Who
were these Aryas or Aryans? Culturally and linguistically they were the
close relatives of another group of people who also called themselves
Aryas, now called Indo-Aryans in contradistinction to the Iranians. The
two groups of Aryans, Indo-Iranians, were related again linguistically and
culturally to the extensive family of Indo-Europeans, which includes most
of the language groups of Europe as well as such ancient Asian groups as
Hittites and Tocharians. Although much controversy surrounds the loca-
tion of the original homeland of the Indo-Europeans, it is fairly certain
that the Indo-Iranians lived in the steppes of what is now Soviet Central
Asia, north of the Caspian and Aral seas. At some point in the third
millennium B.C., there occurred a split in the group that resulted in the
division between Indo-Aryans and Iranians. Around 1500 B.C., both
groups began to move down out of the steppes into various areas of
ancient civilizations, as part of a broader movement of Indo-European
peoples. Although the precise migratory routes have not yet been conclu-
sively demonstrated, it is known that the Indo-Aryans finally settled both
in the northwestern part of India (the Punjab) and in Anatolia; the Iranians
settled in Iran, that is, in a geographical area that included modern Iran,
Afghanistan, and parts of Soviet Central Asia, especially the area bound-
ed by the Oxus and Yaxartes rivers.
The study of the linguistic remains of the Iranians and Indo-Aryans
reveals that while there are easily identified general characteristics that
define the two groups, within each group there were numerous dialect
differences, as noted above. For example, the language of the Old Persian
inscriptions (a southwestern dialect) is quite different from that of the
Avesta (a northeastern dialect), and, in turn, Avestan itself is represented
by two dialects. These linguistic facts are important to the historian of
religions in that they show clearly that Indo-Iranian religion developed in
a situation of cultural diversity. That is, although major cultural, linguis-
tic, and religious traits were held in common by the various tribes, there
were many points of difference. Thus, as one approaches Indo-Iranian
religion, one may be dealing with phenomena as diverse as, say, Dutch
Calvinism and Italian Catholicism, both of which fall under the general
rubric of Christianity.
If one does not push the generalization too far, it is safe to say that
religion reflects society, both its social institutions and its economic way
of life. Since this is certainly true of Indo-Iranian religion, some apprecia-
tion of the material and social foundations of the culture is essential to an
understanding of the religion. The Indo-Iranians were nomadic or semi-
nomadic pastoralists who herded a variety of animals, including goats and
 Introduction I 7
sheep, but whose economic foundation was cattle. Like modern Nilotic
tribes in East Africa, the ancient Aryans depended in manifold ways upon
the cow.2 It provided milk and milk by-products, meat, leather; its urine
was used as a purifying agent; its dung fueled the fire; it could pull carts or
plows. A man's wealth was measured not in money, but in cows. It is not
surprising, then, that the Cow occupies a central position in the religion.
Dependence on cattle and other grazing stock means a life of wandering in
search of fresh pasture land. Usually the pastoralist life is divided into two
yearly phases. In winter when forage is scarce, when snow and cold
impede movement, communities, often a single extended family or a small
group of such families remain in fixed winter quarters. Once the snows
have melted and grass begins to grow, a cycle of migrations begins. Peo-
ples living in mountainous areas follow a regular route of migration from
valleys and lowlands into progressively higher altitudes until late summer
when they begin the descent to the winter stations. No less than agricul-
turalists, pastoral peoples depend on unfailing sources of water for their
animals as well as an adequate spring melt and occasional summer rains to
ensure an abundance of grass. The importance of water is a common
motif in Indo-Iranian mythology. Another important aspect of pastoral
nomadism is warfare—that is, warfare not in terms of large, well-
organized armies, but specifically in the form of cattle rustling. Many of
the gods and heroes of myth and legend represent the ideal Aryan warrior
who is able to smash the defenses of his opponents and liberate their
cattle. As people of the steppes, the Aryans made special use of horse and
chariot in combat, a skill that made them superior to the sedentary agri-
culturalists, whom they were destined to conquer in their invasions of
India and Iran.
There is some controversy over the structure of Indo-European and
Indo-Iranian society.3 It is certainly the case that the society was patriar-
chal. In matters of religion, women, with a few exceptions, played a
minor role. The basic unit was the extended family, and a group of fami-
lies formed a unit known as a *wik (Av wis, OInd vis). A larger grouping
of families formed a tribe, known in Avestan as a zantu and called by
various names in Old Indian. The Iranians recognized an even broader
category called a dahyu 'people, country', which seems to have originally
included all related tribes, but later simply meant 'a province and/or its
people'. Some scholars especially Dumezil, believe that Indo-European
society generally was tripartite in structure, composed of commoners,
warriors, and priests. Although it is true that a tripartite structure can be
demonstrated conclusively for Celtic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan societies
for historical periods, it is not at all certain that a primitive tripartition can
be safely reconstructed for Indo-European or even Indo-Iranian society,
 8 I Introduction
mainly because there is no consistent terminology in the various lan-
guages for the supposed classes. In Avestan a word for 'priest', athra-
wan, became the generalized term for any priest, although in western
Iran there was what Herodotus calls a tribe of Median priests, the Magi
(OPers magu). In India, brdhmana 'brahmin' is a new formation on an
older term, brahman 'one who has to do with brahman (sacred power
inherent in prayers, spells)', again a once specific term generalized to
include the entire class of specialists in the sacred. Members of the war-
rior class in Iran were called rathaeshta 'who stands in the chariot', while
in India they are either rajanya 'kingly, noble' or ksatriya 'one who
exercises rulership; noble man'. The third estate is designated as
wastryo.fshuyant 'husbandman, farmer' in Avestan; in Indie the term is
vaisya 'commoner'. This situation, which is actually far more complex
than I have indicated here, is better explained in terms of independent
evolution than of common origin. The roots of such independent evolu-
tion can be found in certain functions that must necessarily have existed,
that is, economic pursuits, governance, fighting, and specialization in the
sacred. But there is no reason to assume that each function was the sole
domain of three discrete hereditary social classes. The pater familias, for
example, could easily have exercised all three functions. If specialization
occurred, it could have been based on skill and/or vocation.
The sociological problem has a direct bearing on one's understanding of
the religion of the Indo-Iranians, since those who believe in the triparti-
tion of society also believe in a tripartition of the pantheon and of many
religious motifs as a projection of human society. Although I must reject
this particular application of sociological analysis to religion, I shall often
rely, in what follows, on the basic premise that religious structures often
do represent a projection of societal realities and ideals. At a time when
"structuralism" in a variety of forms is enjoying wide currency in reli-
gious studies, however, it is important not to lose sight of historical
change as a determining factor in the formation of a religion. Religions
tend to be conservative. Especially during periods of rapid historical
change, religion will lag behind the rest of society, often to present an
anachronistic view of things. Because of this inertia, which can carry
archaic ideas into an altered present, one must proceed with caution in the
matter of sociological reconstructions. There is a fallacious assumption
implicit in many attempted reconstructions of Indo-Iranian religion and
society that the reconstructed period was somehow pristine, that is, not
subject to the same problems of historical flux that influence all
documented history.
The science of religion has undergone many changes since its serious
beginnings in the nineteenth century. These hermeneutical changes have
 Introduction I 9

also affected the interpretation of Indo-Iranian religions. In the last cen-

tury and the early part of this century, scholars were preoccupied with
nature mythology, sharing an orientation to religion founded on the notion
that gods and many other aspects of religion represented the naive
worship of divinized natural phenomena. I bring this up not as a matter of
historical curiosity but to alert the reader to the fact that much of the older
literature dealing with Indo-Iranian religion assumes the primacy of na-
ture mythology. Of course, it is true that many divine beings have unmis-
takable natural bases. As Avestan examples, one might cite Wata and
Wayu (two wind gods) or Hwarsxshaeta (the god Sun) or Tishtrya (the
star Sirius). Sometimes the deity is as uncomplicated in its manifestations
as is the natural phenomenon itself (e.g., Hwarsxshaeta); sometimes the
deity displays a complexity that far surpasses that of the phenomenon
(e.g., Tishtrya). The real problem arises in respect to those deities who
have naturalistic associations, but whose natures are rooted in far differ-
ent concerns. The god *Mitra (Av Mithra) provides a good example.
Many early discussions concerned themselves almost exclusively with
the problem of the god's solar nature. In Middle Iranian languages, var-
ious reflexes of his name do mean 'sun', (e.g., MPers mihr), and indeed
there are some references in the Avesta to his connection with the sun. In
the Vedic texts known as Brahmanas one also finds the equation Mitra =
Sun. But the word mitra or mithra itself means 'covenant, contract'.
Thus, the basic nature of this god is not to be recovered by constructing
an intricate theory concerning his identity with the sun, but rather by
realizing that he is essentially an ethical deity. A proper understanding of
Mitra must begin with the ethical concept. Once this is done, many of the
god's aspects can be seen as proceeding from the central concept. In
addition to the deities who represent either natural phenomena or the
ideals of society, there are always a number of so-called Sondergotter
(special gods) who preside over very specific matters (e.g., the deities
who rule over the five daily watches). The point to be made here is that
there is no one, simple way of understanding either the origin or the basic
nature of the various deities. Each case has to be examined on its own
merits.
The Indo-Iranians, like other peoples, consistently divided the cosmos
into three levels: earth, heaven, and the middle space or atmosphere. This
tripartition of the cosmos, especially emphasized by the Indo-Aryans,
provides the basic orientation of the religion. Since the levels are ordered
in ascending grades, they present to the human perspective an order of
transcendence. The earth, though extremely holy herself, is the realm of
human activity and therefore of immanence. The atmosphere touches the
earth, surrounds man, yet extends beyond to the vault of heaven. It is a
 10 I Introduction

realm of ever-changing aspect, a seeming void traversed by the unpredict-

able wind, now gentle, now violent, now dry, now bringing clouds and
storms. In short, the atmosphere is an arena for the constant activity of
awesome and often violent forces. Above the atmosphere is the vault of
heaven, and beyond it is heaven itself. Whereas the atmosphere touches
man, heaven is wholly beyond the sphere of ordinary human experience.
Its very height provides a natural symbol of transcendence.
As a result of the tripartition of the cosmos, deities characteristically
inhabit one or the other of the cosmic levels. And, characteristically,
those who inhabit heaven, the so-called "sky gods," are creators of the
cosmos and representatives of the highest ethical principles. They are
also masculine. They often remain aloof from the everyday functioning of
the cosmos, although in some cases perpetual activity is required of them,
as in the case of Mitra, who must be ever on the lookout for breakers of
covenants. The deities of the atmosphere, normally masculine, tend to be
violent or at least martial in nature. They either perpetually inhabit the
atmosphere, like the wind gods (Wata, Wayu), or else they dwell on the
mountain (usually the cosmic mountain) and issue forth through the air in
their chariots or in one or another of their theriomorphic forms. Storm
and war are their chief occupations. The deities of the earth, usually
feminine, tend to be connected with fertility, prosperity, and more every-
day concerns. Finally, there are deities who by nature occupy all cosmic
levels. The god Fire, for example, is the primary means of communication
between the human and divine realms. He either conducts the gods to the
sacrifice or carries the offerings to the gods. The Heavenly River (known
under a variety of names), flowing down from the heights of heaven to the
earth, is, especially in Iran, a multivalent goddess who—perhaps because
of her itinerary—shows personality traits characteristic of all cosmic
levels. In considering the cosmic associations of deities, I should like to
emphasize, however, that the categories may be only approximations that
can aid one's orientation, for one often finds that the situation presented
in the actual texts is too complicated to be amenable to all-too-simplistic
schemes.
On the subject of cosmology, a few additional remarks are in order,
although details will be covered in the introductions to the reading selec-
tions. Myths about how the cosmos came to have the form it now has are
numerous, especially on the Indo-Aryan side. The multiplicity of explana-
tions shows, if nothing else, that the Indo-Iranians probably possessed no
one myth of creation, but were content with a variety of alternatives,
without feeling a need for logical consistency. Common creation myths
probably included at least the following themes: (1) creation through the
dismemberment of a primordial giant, the cosmic man; (2) the incubation
 Introduction 111
and hatching of the embryonic world from the cosmic egg; (3) the fashion-
ing of the cosmos by an artisan or carpenter god; (4) creation by a hero
who drives or holds apart heaven and earth; (5) creation by a powerful
being (d(h)dtar) who literally 'places' (d(h)a-) the cosmos in the void. In
Iranian religion (3) and (5) are the prevalent themes, and both feats are
attributed to Ahura Mazda or one of his aspects.
Although the Indo-Iranians entertained a variety of theories about the
origin of the cosmos, they maintained fairly uniform ideas concerning
cosmography, i.e., the structure of the cosmos once it had come into
being. In addition to its inner tripartition, there is seen to exist a broader
duality of ordered being (cosmos) and nonordered being (chaos); cosmos
arises, through whatever agency, out of chaos. Further, cosmos is like a
fortress surrounded by chaos, normally symbolized as the waters, some-
times as darkness. There also occurs a vertical differentiation in chaos;
that is, the waters surrounding the heavens are the source of Truth,
whereas those in the nether regions below and around the earth are
shrouded in darkness and are the source of the anticosmic principle of
Falsehood. This is not as peculiar as it may appear at first glance, since
the human attitude toward the primordial, precosmic state naturally man-
ifests itself in ambivalence. The reason is that chaos, pure undifferenti-
ated being, contains the germs of all possibilities, for good as well as for
evil. To the mystic who can transcend the finitude of the human condi-
tion, pure being is the ultimate beatific goal of oneness beyond all oppo-
sites. To the nonmystic, pure being is chaos, a state perceived with all its
contradiction as both terrifying and attractive. In mythico-cosmographic
terms, such ambivalence finds expression in the vertical differentiation of
chaos.
I have mentioned that the cosmos was conceived of as a kind of for-
tress. In the myths, the sky itself, the vault of heaven, is made of stone.
The common Iranian word for the sky was as man (NPers asman, Ved
asman) a word with the basic meaning of 'stone'. I have also mentioned
the lofty height of heaven. The gap separating "this earth" from "yon
heaven," as the texts express it, is not unbridgeable. In addition to the
intermediary of Fire, there also exists the cosmic mountain arising from
earth to heaven, the Mem of the Indians, called the Alburz (Av Hara-
B3r3zaiti) by the Iranians. This mountain—actually a mountain range in
the case of the Alburz—partially mythological, partially homologized
with real mountains, provides an important path of communication be-
tween cosmic levels, an avenue both of transcendence for man and of
immanence for the divine. As such, the cosmic mountain plays an essen-
tial role in the system of cosmic hydrology. Although rain does figure in
the myths, the primary source of water for the Indo-Iranians was river
 12 I Introduction
water. Its source was the cosmic ocean or sea, located in heaven. From it
flowed a mighty river or rivers down the cosmic mountain to the earth to
become various rivers. These flowed into the sea, from which they flowed
back, in a manner that is unclear, into the heavenly ocean, so completing
the cycle. (See sects. 9, 12. 15, 16.)
It is a characteristic of Indo-Iranian cosmography that there is a good
deal of confusion between it and actual geography. When reading texts,
one is frequently not at all sure whether the text is referring to an actual
mountain, river, or sea, or to a mythological one, or to both simultaneous-
ly. For example, there are many references in the Avesta to the
Wouru.kasha sea. In some places it will appear obvious that it is the
cosmic sea; in others, an actual sea (Aral? Caspian?) seems indicated.
Sometimes one cannot discern which is meant. Part of this vagueness has
to do with the notion of sacred geography itself. Archaic peoples such as
the Indo-Iranians made their world a sacred world, one filled with reli-
gious meaning, by investing geographic features with mythological con-
tent. Thus the highest mountain would not be simply Mount So-and-So,
but would be the cosmic mountain itself; rivers and seas were regarded in
the same way. In the case of nomadic peoples, geographic nomenclature
was not absolute. That is, when a group moved to a new region, the new
geographical features were assigned the same associations as the old. One
can easily observe this process as the Vedic Aryans progressed from the
Punjab into the Doab, where, for example, the Ganges replaced the older
Indus (Sindhu) and Sarasvati as the cosmic river.
The duality of cosmos and chaos also had a far-reaching influence on
the ethical orientation of the Aryans. On the one hand, the dark, terrifying
aspect of chaos was viewed as an ever-present source of demonic forces
that threatened cosmic order. Night was the special domain of demons
who issued forth from the nether regions of darkness beneath the earth. In
the Avesta, demonic creatures commonly hide beneath the earth; in a
famous Vedic myth, the god Indra casts the anticosmic demon Vrtra
down into "long darkness" after having separated the cosmos (sat) from
chaos (asat). On the other hand, the concept of cosmos implied the ideal
of the real or true. In Vedic, the word used for 'cosmos' is sat, a neuter
noun formed on the present participle of the verb 'to be' (as-). Its etymo-
logical meaning is 'being', hence 'the real; the cosmos'. Its opposite, asat,
is not absolute nonbeing, but rather nonbeing in the sense of 'nonordered
being; the unreal; chaos'. Although the duality sat-asat is not attested to
directly in Old Iranian religion, it is presupposed by one of the words for
'true; truth', Av haithya, OPers hashya. Both of these correspond to
OInd satya 'true; truth', literally, 'that which is related, that which cor-
responds to the real (sat)'.
 Introduction I 13

In addition to this word for 'truth', there existed another, partially

synonymous word *rta (OInd rta, Av as ha, OPers (a)rta). The etymol-
ogy of this word has been the subject of much dispute, but it probably
derives from a verb ar- 'to join'. Rta- is a neuter noun basically meaning
'connection'.4 Like satya, rta- implies a "connection" with the real, with
the proper or characteristic order of things. As such it has two basic
meanings in Indo-Iranian: (1) 'truth'; (2) 'cosmic order'. Rta is perhaps
the most important concept in Aryan religion, since it embodies the basic
principle by which the entire cosmos, physical as well as ethical, behaves.
This highest principle was under the special care of the supreme heavenly
deity; in India this was Varuna, in Iran, Ahura Mazda. It was also closely
associated with fire and had its seat in the heavenly waters. Because of
their link with rta, both fire and water were employed in the solemnizing
of oaths and the administration of ordeals. In the course of history, Vedic
rta was soon replaced by the concept of dharma, while in Iran its active
usage persisted longer; but certainly by the late Achaemenid period, if not
much earlier, it too fell into disuse in all but a formulaic way.
The concept of rta naturally implies its opposite. Vedic religion, which
is not exceptionally dualistic in outlook, made limited explicit use of this
opposite principle; Iranian religion, however, which developed an excep-
tionally dualistic outlook, greatly exploited it. The principle opposing
asha was not its simple negation (like Vedic anrta), but druj 'lie, false-
hood, deceit'. It is essential to understand from the outset that Iranian
religion, especially Zoroastrianism, was founded on the idea of an all-
inclusive ethical dualism. I shall return to the question of asha-druj short-
ly in reference to the religion of Zarathushtra.
Many religions of the ancient world possessed in their mythologies the
idea of generations of gods. The difficult question of the origin of the idea
lies beyond the scope of the present work. Let it suffice to observe that
Indo-Iranian religion seems also to have embraced this notion, although
the details are certainly obscure. Two groups of deities are encountered in
the Vedas and in the Avesta. They are the *asuras (OInd asura, Olr
ahurd) and the *daiwas or devas. The earliest parts of the Rgveda indicate
that the asuras are the older generation, while the devas are upstarts.
Although they may show some signs of antagonism, the two groups coex-
ist in a state of alliance against the common enemy, the anticosmic de-
mons, variously called the danavas, dasas, and dasyus. In the latter parts
of the Rgveda and especially in the Brahmanas, however, there is a cu-
rious development: the asuras as a group (which includes among others
Mitra and Varuna!) become the demons, whereas the devas emerge as the
true gods. The antagonism between devas and asuras is one of the most
common themes of the later Vedic ritual literature, where the two groups
 14 I Introduction

frequently fight with one another over the sacrifice. The preoccupation of
the Vedic ritualists, who composed this literature, with this antagonism
indicates that an essential aspect of the distinction between the two
groups of deities was the nature of their worship. That is, different forms
of worship may have been performed for them. On the Iranian side, the
situation is generally reversed. All the texts, much later than the Rgveda,
show an absolute dualism between ahura-daewa, so that the ahuric world
is aligned with Truth (Asha), while the daewic world is that of the Lie
(Druj). Thus, for example, the great Vedic god Indra appears in the Aves-
ta in the demonology of the Vendidad. About the only evidence for the
proto-Indo-Iranian state of affairs is the fossilized Avestan phrase 'of
gods and men' (daewanam mashyanamca). In parts of Iran, notably
Mazandaran and Sogdiana, daewa worship persisted into the Islamic
period. As shall become clear in the discussion of Zarathushtra's religion,
the reasons for the accommodation of the ahura-daewa opposition to the
general dualism are probably ritualistic.
There is an often-quoted statement of the Greek historian Herodotus to
the effect that the Persians do not erect statues, temples, and altars, and
that they consider those who do to be fools, for the reason that their
religion is not anthropomorphic like the Greeks'.5 Like so much of Herod-
otus' information, this observation contains some truth with an admixture
of inaccuracy. But the statement is generally valid for all of Aryan religion
including the Vedas. The Aryans certainly constructed fire altars, but
there was no place in their religion for temples or icons. Major acts of
worship of the gods were accomplished through the performance of a
sacrifice, which in most cases required an animal victim. The word for
such a ceremony, in Avestan yasna, in Old Indian yajna, derives from the
common verbal root yaz-lyaj- 'to worship; to sacrifice'. The same verb,
incidentally, is at the base of the normal Avestan word for 'god' yazata
(lit. 'one worthy of worship or of sacrifice'). Since yaz- usually carries the
broader connotation of 'worship', especially with prayer, it is usually
translated as such even when sacrifice is involved.
To achieve a proper perspective on the nature and meaning of the
sacrifice, one must first make the point that in Aryan society hospitality,
its proper rites and observances, was a socio-ethical institution of primary
importance. Now, the fundamental concept of Aryan worship is that one
invites the desired deities as highly honored guests to a meal in their
honor.6 A meal for an honored guest required more than the simple provi-
sion of food. It was necessary to welcome the guest, to offer him refresh-
ment after his long journey, to provide him a soft seat, to entertain him
with poetry and music, and, of course, to provide him with a fitting meal.
Finally, hospitality itself was viewed as a kind of gift and, in addition, an
 Introduction I 15

exchange of gifts would normally have taken place between host and
guest. If properly treated, a guest was under a particular obligation to
return the host's favor through a gift. It is clear, then, that the goal of the
sacrifice was the reception of the deity's gift, the entire ceremony im-
plying a quid pro quo arrangement often summarized by the Latin phrase
do ut des 'I give in order that you may give'. Although it is true that,
outwardly, the sacrifice took the form of the rites of hospitality, which
involved the exchange of gifts, one should not get the impression that the
ceremony was viewed simply in terms of an everyday business transac-
tion. It was also a time when the gods came down to earth and stayed
among men, an occasion for men to sit in the presence of the gods. To lose
sight of this important spiritual dimension is to reduce the very focal point
of the religion to a crass material exchange.
If one looks at the Avestan and Rgvedic literature from this perspec-
tive, one quickly notices that much of it is in the form either of invoca-
tions or invitations to the various deities or of laudatory poetry sung for
and about the divine guest. One also observes that the host-worshipper's
request for the obligatory gift of the god's boon is seldom omitted. It is
important to keep in mind that Indo-Iranian hymns were composed not
with a human audience in mind, but a divine one. The hymns that praise
the gods by rehearsing their attributes and their mythological exploits are
often extremely confusing to modern readers. Almost never do they relate
a myth in narrative style. Rather they present, in kaleidoscopic fashion,
only isolated details or highlights of the mythology. Frustrating as it is to
the reader who would wish a clear narrative, the poets of the Avesta and
the Rgveda saw no reason to tell the story; after all, the gods knew their
own mythologies! The poets' goal was to allude to matters already known
to all, but to phrase them in new and artistically creative ways that would
please the divine guest.
The central deity of the sacrifice was the Fire (see sect. 14). He func-
tioned as messenger between human and divine spheres. He carried the
invitations to the gods and either returned with them to the sacrifice or, on
occasion, conveyed the sacrifice to them. He was, in all cases, the in-
termediary step in the offering of the victim in that the victim could not be
offered raw. Before the altar the sacrificer had to prepare a seat of soft
grass for the god(s). This is the barssman of the Avesta, the barhis of the
Vedas (cf. Av barszish 'cushion'). In addition to the flesh or fat offering,
the god was also given an invigorating drink to quench his thirst and
revive his spirits. This was the famous mixed drink of milk and *sauma
(Av haoma, OInd soma), discussed in detail in sect. 13.
Although, as I believe, the yajna/yasna was originally a fairly simple
ceremony, which any duly instructed household head could perform, in
 16 I Introduction

time its performance became increasingly elaborate, especially in respect

to the preparation of the sauma, until the ceremony became the exclusive
domain of religious specialists, an evolution that largely contributed to the
establishment of priesthoods in the respective societies.

Zarathushtrianism
It is partially against the religious background summarized in the preced-
ing section that the figure of Zarathushtra must be seen. No prophet has
ever emerged from a cultural or ideological vacuum. A prophet's creativ-
ity, his ability to communicate a new revelation, rests on his familiarity
with his tradition and on his skill in interpreting that tradition. When one
studies the religious teachings of Zarathushtra, one's ability to understand
his often obscure pronouncements will depend on one's appreciation of
his background.
Unfortunately, many of the facts concerning Zarathushtra's historical
circumstances and his teachings are shrouded in obscurity. The full Sasa-
nid Avesta apparently contained legends about his life and some of these
are recounted in the Pahlavi Denkard. Little credence can be given these
accounts, however, since they belong to the genre of wonder-literature.
Only a few hard facts can be retrieved from the Avesta, especially from
Zarathushtra's own Gathas ('Songs'). A tentative biography may be given
as follows.
Zarathushtra spoke an archaic language, which, on the basis of compar-
ative Iranian linguistics, can be assigned to the northeastern language
groups exclusive of those farthest east on the Indo-Iranian frontier and
those north of the Oxus. Although this narrows down his geographic
sphere of activity somewhat, it still leaves rather a vast area of his life
open to speculation. As I have already had occasion to mention, his dates
are a matter for widely divergent opinion. One eminent scholar believes
that Zarathushtra was a Stone Age man living among nomadic Iranian
tribes in northern Central Asia some time between 1700 and 1500 B.C., at a
time before they had migrated south to Iran proper7; another equally
eminent scholar held, with equal conviction, that Zarathushtra was active
in the quite civilized state of Chorasmia at the beginning of the sixth
century B.C., at a time just preceding the formation of the Persian empire
under Cyrus the Great (559-529 B.C.).8 Obviously, one's assessment of
Zarathushtra and the nature of his religious ideas will differ significantly,
depending on where and when one places his life. And, if there is room for
such widely incongruous opinions on the subject, one may well wonder
 Introduction I 17

whether despair is the only alternative! The principal reason for posing
the early date for the prophet is the very archaic appearance of the Gathas
in terms of both language and cultural reference. In linguistics, archaism
does not necessarily imply greater antiquity, however, since for a variety
of reasons languages and dialects do not undergo change at a uniform
pace. Glottochronology is thus a very insecure science. For example,
since religions are conservative, changing only very slowly, religious or
priestly language tends to be archaic. An obvious example of this general
tendency is the continuing influence of "King James" English in Protes-
tant Christianity throughout the English-speaking world. Zarathushtra,
who was certainly trained as a priest, probably chose an archaic, hieratic
form of his language in preference to the vernacular. A corollary to the
use of archaic language is often the retention of an anachronistic cultural
frame of reference. Taking Christianity again as an example, it continues
to use the pastoral imagery of the Bible even in an age of urban industrial
civilization. To cite another example, the imagery of the Indian
Upanisads is pastoral, yet it is known that these texts were composed in
the days of the early city-states of the Doab. If, then, Zarathushtra's
Gathas are archaic, it may simply be the case that he was wont to employ
archaic forms of speech and imagery. In favor of the late date for
Zarathushtra is the Zoroastrian (Sasanid) tradition that places him 258
years before Alexander, that is, probably at the time of the defeat of
Darius III in 331 B.C. Although the traditional date should not be
accepted without question, especially when most other traditions of the
prophet are so historically worthless, this date, unlike the extravagant
Greek notion that Zoroaster lived six thousand years before Plato, is
clearly not the product of a fanciful mythologization; furthermore, it
makes a good deal of sense in terms of the course of Iranian history in the
sixth century. Therefore, I uphold the later date, in consequence of which
I shall interpret Zarathushtra's teachings and the evolution of Zoroas-
trianism with reference to that date.
Zarathushtra was probably trained to be a priest. He refers to himself as
a zaotar (cf. Ved hotar), the principal priest to officiate in the sacrifice
(yasna), while the later tradition of the Young Avesta calls him an athra-
wan 'priest'. He also refers to himself as a mathran 'one who composes or
recites sacred utterances' (mathra [Ved mantra}}. Some of the mathras
that he produced, the Gathas or Songs, display a traditional Indo-
European style of sacred composition the mastery of which required
much training. His priestly profession was probably not thrust upon him
by heredity; he evidently chose it, since his name and those of his father
and a sole recorded ancestor would hardly qualify as priestly names. His
father's name was Pourushaspa, his ancestor Haecat.aspa, each contain-
 18 I Introduction
ing the word aspa 'horse'. His own name contains the word for 'camel',
ushtra. In addition, the word aspa is also contained in the names of
Zarathushtra's royal patron Wishtaspa and of his son-in-law Jamaspa,
while the word ushtra appears in his father-in-law's name Frashaoshtra.
Zarathushtra's family name was Spitama (lit. 'who has brilliant (aggres-
sive) strength').
Despite the obscurity of their content, the Gathas bear unmistakable
witness to the passionately personal relationship felt by Zarathushtra with
his god Ahura Mazda. The Gathas usually find Zarathushtra in intense
dialogue with him. It was, no doubt, partially his religious zeal, partially
his visionary intellect, partially his drive to proselytize, which raised
Zarathushtra from the anonymity of all his predecessors to a place in
history as the prophet of what was destined to become the state religion of
Iran and one of the most influential religions of the ancient world. It
appears that his initial efforts at spreading the word and winning support
for his views in his homeland were met with stiff opposition and ultimate-
ly failure. In one obscure stanza (Y. 46.1), Zarathushtra seems to be
questioning where he might go as a result of his being rejected or even
made an outcast by the community. In any case, he often complains of his
weakness and his lack of cattle and men (Y. 46.2). When the Soul of the
Cow (gSush urwari) is told by Ahura Mazda that her protector is to be
Zarathushtra, she complains bitterly about the latter's weakness (Y.
29.8-9). His principal enemies were men whom he identifies as kawis and
karapans. The latter, whose name means 'mumbler', were priests of some
sort. The case of the kawis is not so clear. Since a common word for a
Vedic poet-seer is kavi, it would appear that the Iranian kawi was also a
poet-seer. Matters are complicated, however, by the fact that kawi was
also a princely title in eastern Iran, or at least in the house of Zarathush-
tra's eventual patron, Wishtaspa. Zarathushtra attaches no pejorative
connotation to the title kawi when it is applied to him. Kawi is, moreover,
the name of a partially legendary dynasty (whose members will be en-
countered in the reading selections) the last member of which was Wish-
taspa. The reason for his being the last of the line is, incidentally, that
Cyrus the Great probably brought it to an end in the course of his eastern
campaigns. It remains a matter of conjecture whether the kawis to whom
Zarathushtra refers are religious opponents or hostile princes or both at
once. Be that as it may, Zarathushtra eventually found a patron, the kawi
Wishtaspa, who not only espoused the new faith but protected it and
helped propagate it by force of arms. Beyond these few facts little more
can be said about the prophet's life. Obviously, his religion prospered
greatly once royal patronage had been secured, so much so that we may
assume that much of northeastern Iran soon confessed, on a superficial
 Introduction I 19

level, the prophet's religion. How profound the reform he instituted was
will be discussed in the following section.
Any discussion of Zarathushtrianism must also begin with the concept
of the supreme deity, Ahura Mazda (see also sect. 2). As we shall see,
there is a substantial body of evidence to show that a deity very much like
Ahura Mazda was part of the Indo-Iranian religious tradition. He was a
supreme creator who was especially concerned with 'Truth' (rta, asha),
that is, the moral and physical order, and who could become an object of
intense personal relationship on the part of his worshipper. This inherited
deity, the Wise Lord (the literal meaning of Ahura Mazda), far from being
a god of monotheistic devotion, stood at the head of a numerous panthe-
on. Furthermore, he belonged to the class of gods known as asura (Ir
ahura) 'lord'. While it is altogether unlikely that Zarathushtra invented
the name Ahura Mazda, it would seem that he articulated a theology that
elevated Ahura Mazda to a status even more exclusive than the one he
traditionally enjoyed. It is a status that falls short of absolute monothe-
ism, yet may be rightly called "qualified" monotheism, in that Zarathush-
tra recognizes a plurality of "Wise Lords" (Y. 30.9, 31.4) as well as the
so-called Entities or aspects of Ahura Mazda's personality.
In the previous section I had occasion to mention the Indo-Iranian
pantheon and the distinction between 'truth' (rta) and 'falsehood' (Ilr
drugh, draughd). In the religion of Zarathushtra, these latent dualisms
have become articulated into a dualism that sees the world as a battle-
ground where the two ethical forces and their representatives contend. It
is probable that strong dualist tendencies were present in Old Iranian
religion before Zarathushtra, yet it was his genius to give a solid theo-
logical foundation to them.
The dualism of Zarathushtra, in contradistinction to that of the Younger
Avesta and of orthodox Zoroastrianism of the Sasanid period, is not
absolute: that is, the opposing forces of Truth and Falsehood are not
primordial. They came into being, it would seem, as emanations or crea-
tions of Ahura Mazda. As we shall soon learn, Ahura Mazda is sur-
rounded by a group of beings, or 'Entities' (hatdm) as they are called,
who appear to be emanations of aspects of his own personality. Drawing
upon an ancient Indo-European myth of the Twins in whom life and death
originate, Zarathushtra elaborated his own variant whereby Ahura Mazda
had created two Spirits as twin brothers (ySma), Spanta Mainyu and
Angra Mainyu, who were distinguished in mind, word, and deed, the
former as very good and the latter as bad (Y. 30.3). Together they estab-
lished life and death. Although their very natures differed in every respect
(Y. 45.2), the crucial distinction between the two lay in their exercise of
choice, that is, free will. As Zarathushtra puts it, "Of the two Spirits, the
 20 I Introduction

follower of the Lie chose the worst actions, the most beneficent (Spirit
chose) Truth" (Y. 30.5). This original exercise of free will, even before
the creation of the material world, remains paradigmatic for man. This is
the very essence of Zarathushtrianism. Man is endowed with free will and
must choose between Truth and Falsehood; his salvation or perdition
rests solely on his choice. Furthermore, it is important to understand that
the proper choice necessarily implies commitment to the Zoroastrian tril-
ogy of "good thought, good speech, and good action." One who has
chosen the life of Truth (Asha) is an ashawan 'righteous (man)' (lit.
'Truth-possessor'); while one who has chosen the Lie (Druj) is a drug-
want (lit. 'Lie-possessor').
Spanta Mainyu, the Beneficent Spirit, belongs also to the group of
Entities, which, in the post-Gathic literature, are called the Amasha
Spdntas or Beneficent Immortals. Before discussing them individually, a
clarification of the word spsnta is in order. Spanta is a technical religious
term. Although its etymology has been much debated, it seems most
probable that it is cognate with words in other Indo-European languages
that mean 'holy'. Nevertheless, the Zoroastrian tradition shows that,
irrespective of its etymology, spanta (as well as its other Avestan cog-
nates) implies the notions of 'increase, increment, bounty, beneficence'.
True to the Aryan heritage, Zoroastrianism has always been a life-
affirming religion; it is worldly in outlook, seeing in a prospering world the
triumph of good over evil.
Scholars have tended to see as a model for Zarathushtra's creation of
the Amasha Spsntas surrounding Ahura Mazda a group of Vedic deities,
the Adityas, who surround, but also include, Varuna. Some even see in
them thinly disguised sublimations of the traditional deities supposedly
•outlawed by Zarathushtra. The comparison with the Adityas is at best
vague and imprecise, however, while the sublimation theory is simply
wrong. Rather than juggle deities around and assign them new, abstract
names, Zarathushtra seems to have developed a complicated theology of
Ahura Mazda's aspects on the basis of key concepts of Old Iranian intel-
lectual culture. This becomes clear when we look at the names of these
aspects. In addition to Spanta Mainyu, they are: Asha = Truth, Wohu
Manah = Good Mind, Xshathra = Dominion, Armaiti = Devotion, Haur-
watat = Wholeness, and Amsrdtat = Life.
Another dualism that is prominent in Zarathushtra's thought and main-
tains its importance throughout the history of Zoroastrianism, is that
between matter and spirit. We must emphasize the point here that, unlike
most gnostic systems, which equate matter with evil and spirit with good,
Zoroastrianism has never known such a dualism. The material world is
the creation of Ahura Mazda or of his creative aspect Spsnta Mainyu. As
 Introduction I 21

such it was originally good. Unfortunately, however, it also contains

demons (daewas) and noxious creatures (xrafstras), which are the crea-
tion of the Evil Spirit, Angra Mainyu. In human terms, evil is always a
product of will, never of nature.
Not only was Zarathushtra a religious thinker and poet, but also a
ritualist through and through. It will be remembered that he was a priest
(zaotar) by profession. As in matters of theology, so in ritual, Zarathush-
tra instituted a reform of older practices. Precisely what these reforms
were is again the subject of much disagreement among scholars, owing, as
always, to the obscurity of the Gathas. There is general agreement on two
points. One is that Zarathushtra emphasized in the extreme the differ-
ences in ritual accorded the daewas and the ahuras. As already noted, in
the later Vedic literature of the Brahmanas, the devas (gods) and the
asuras (demons) are in a state of perpetual strife over the sacrifice (yajna).
From Zarathushtra's point of view the daewas were the demons. To
worship them, to perform sacrifices appropriate to them, was to promote
the Lie and all it represented. The Gathas never state specifically who the
daewas are. The Younger Avesta is quite vague on the subject, since its
demonology embraces mostly abstract entities (Pollution, Stupor, and the
like), some monsters, and three figures who correspond to Vedic devas,
namely, Indra, Ndnghaithya (corresponding to the twin Nasatyas), and
Saurwa (= Ved Sarva, a form oiRudra-Siva). One can only guess that the
daewas included certain members of the traditional pantheon plus demon-
ic beings in general. If Old Iranian worship included the inherited class of
daiwas we can easily understand the resistance that Zarathushtra's re-
forms encountered. The second point on which there is agreement is that
what he objected to in particular was the violent manner in which the
daewa worshippers sacrificed animals, especially cattle. It must be under-
stood that he did not oppose animal sacrifice; Zoroastrianism, except
under pressure from Hinduism and Hinduized Parsis, has always counte-
nanced animal sacrifice. In Zarathushtra's eyes, the cow was a sacred
animal, and in his religion the Soul of the Cow (Gdush Urwan; see Yasna
29) was the prototype of all ahuric animal creation. The extreme sense of
sacredness attaching to the cow made it necessarily the object of solici-
tous care, but did not exempt it from sacrifice.
Much controversy surrounds Zarathushtra's attitude toward the drink
haoma (see sect. 13). In a somewhat unclear passage, he condemns "the
piss of this drunkenness" in connection with the karapans and misrule.
Many have assumed that this cannot possibly refer to anything other than
haoma. In favor of the argument is the fact that haoma, or rather soma,
was particularly important to Vedic Indra, a deva duly demonized in the
Vendidad. Against it is the entire history of Zoroastrianism, in which the
 22 / Introduction
central ritual, the yasna, is essentially a haoma sacrifice. How could it be
possible for followers of Zarathushtra's teachings unashamedly to
espouse a practice that their prophet so roundly condemned? Clearly,
they did not. The proper conclusion to make is that "the piss of this
drunkenness" must refer to something else.
The conflict between the two principles, Truth and the Lie, was man-
ifest on a number of levels. It had its origin in the myth of the Twins. As a
result of the choices made by these two Spirits, their respective creations
came into conflict. On one level, the conflict is the struggle between
daewas and ahuras over the ritual. On another level, the mundane level,
the conflict manifests itself in human choice; in concrete reality, the
choice is made empirically. That is to say, one can observe from people's
behavior which side they are on. Nothing is more natural than to number
one's enemies among the demonic creatures, those who have chosen the
Lie or were created by the Evil Spirit. Zarathushtra judged his personal
enemies in this manner, but, more importantly, he also saw the cosmic
conflict in sociopolitical terms. On the one hand, Zarathushtra cham-
pioned the cause of peaceful, ordered pastoralist life. On the other hand,
such life was constantly threatened by barbarous nomadic peoples led by
the demon Wrath (Aeshmd) who raided and plundered the settled folk.
This conflict, which has plagued Iran throughout its history, was to be-
come more fully articulated as that between Iran and Turan, that is,
between civilized man and the northern barbarians.
A final element of Zarathushtra's religion was eschatology. It is difficult
to judge on the basis of the Gathas just how far he had developed his ideas
on the subject, yet it appears that he had already formulated at least the
germinal concept of "last things." Later Zoroastrianism was to formulate
an eschatological system in which Judaic messianism probably found its
original inspiration. Zarathushtra was a realist in the sense that he focused
on the here-and-now. He often refers to the rewards of the righteous and
of the iniquitous in terms of immediate signs. His belief in the power of
Ahura Mazda was such that he did not envisage a perpetual situation in
which the wicked prospered while the righteous suffered. He did have a
concept, though, of savior figures, whom he called Saoshyants and among
whom he numbers himself. The Saoshyants were clearly seen as promot-
ers of the good religion of Ahura Mazda, who were to lead the community
of the faithful to immanent victory over the forces of the Lie. He also
believed in a second or future life in which the rewards not realized in life
would be obtained after the day of judgment. The final judgment of the
departed souls took place at the Bridge of Judgment (Cinwato parstu).
Those who cross safely, because of their good deeds, proceed to their
reward in heaven. The others, however, fall into darkness where men wail
 Introduction I 23

and gnash their teeth, or, in Zarathushtra's words, into "a long life of
darkness, bad food, (and)) lamentation" (Y. 31.20).
The Zarathushtrian community must well have expected the "marve-
lous" (fsrashd) transformation of existence to be accomplished soon.
When this did not happen and the world continued in its sinful ways, a
theological reassessment must have taken place. Instead of an immanent
establishment of Ahura Mazda's dominion on earth, Zoroastrians came to
expect the fulfillment of their religion at the end of time: a novel concept
in itself. A theory of world ages was developed accompanied by a doc-
trine of successive Saoshyants (born of Zarathushtra's miraculously pre-
served semen), culminating in the final Saoshyant, who would appear at
the end of history in the final triumph of Ahura Mazda over the Evil Spirit.

Zoroastrianism
Apart from the translations of Achaemenid inscriptions and the Gathas,
the present anthology draws almost exclusively upon the texts of Zoroas-
trianism, that is, the eclectic religion that evolved in Iran after Zarathush-
tra's reform of Old Iranian religion. Since much of this material is ana-
lyzed in the introductions to the individual selections, my remarks here
can be brief. Nevertheless, a certain overview will be necessary for an
understanding of subsequent discussions and of the texts themselves.
There are a number of problems concerning the nature of post-
Zarathushtrian religion. By far the most complex problem is the process
by which a reform movement in northeastern Iran became the basis for a
pan-Iranian religion under the later Achaemenids. Chronologically, our
point of departure is not so much the death of the prophet as the supposed
fall of eastern Iran, including Wishtaspa's realm, to Cyrus the Great
(559-529 B.C.) around the middle of the sixth century B.C. Once all of Iran
had been united under a powerful central authority, conditions for easy
communication throughout the empire were established in order to facili-
tate the administration of so vast a territory. The new channels of com-
munication also made travel easier. This in turn led to the possibility of
increased cultural exchange. The Persian army itself was composed of
contingents from throughout the empire. Merchants and craftsmen were
drawn to the capital from as far away as Ionia and India. There can be
little doubt that zealous followers of Zarathushtra seized the opportunity
to spread the "good religion" throughout the empire, and, it would not be
overly rash to surmise that, just as Zarathushtra had seen his religion
prosper under royal patronage, so his followers must have sought the
 24 I Introduction

favor of the new royal house. Unfortunately, this is all speculation, for
there is not one shred of evidence to indicate what really happened.
The hypothesis that Zarathushtrian missionaries were at work in the
empire and that they particularly sought Achaemenid patronage appears
to gain some substance when we examine the religious ideas of the
Achaemenid kings, beginning with Darius I (522-486 B.C.). Although
there is disagreement among scholars as to whether or not Darius was a
convert to Zarathushtrianism, we can at least affirm that the ideas he
propounds in the course of his inscriptions are remarkably close to those
of Zarathushtra. Although he grudgingly mentions "the other gods (baga)
who are," he is otherwise devoted solely to the worship of Ahuramazda,
often in intensely personal terms. He repeatedly singles out the Lie
(draugd) as the cause of evil, especially of social and political chaos.
However, he nowhere mentions Truth (arta), nor the daiwas nor the
Amasha Spantas nor Zarathushtra. If he were a convert, would he not be
likely to include these matters among his religious concerns? Although an
oblique reference to daiwa worship may be implied in Darius' statement
that "the Scythians were unruly and did not worship Ahuramazda," it is
only his heir Xerxes (486-465 B.C.) who condemns their worship in his
famous Daiwadana inscription (see sect. 2). The main question here, to
which there is no definitive answer, is whether Ahura Mazda was the
creation of Zarathushtra or already a pan-Iranian deity. By the time of
Artaxerxes II (404-359 B.C.), it seems that the eclectic Zoroastrian reli-
gion (not Zarathushtrianism) has been accepted as the official religion of
the empire. Again, there is no conclusive evidence for this; Artaxerxes
mentions Mithra and Anahita in his inscriptions, however, and is said to
have encouraged the worship of the latter through her images, which he
sent throughout the empire. It is also possible that a calendar reform was
instituted during his reign, which substituted the names of Zoroastrian
deities for the older month names. Furthermore, during his reign the
Greeks first became aware of Zoroaster.
Closely linked to the question of missionary activities in western Iran is
that of the position of the Magi. According to a notice in Herodotus,9 they
were a tribe of Median priests whose presence seems to have been re-
quired at all religious ceremonies, where they recited what the Greek
historian calls "theogonies," no doubt Yasht-like hymns. Because of a
magian plot to wrest the kingship from Darius, these powerful priests fell
into extreme disfavor at the beginning of the latter's reign. The weakened
status of the Magi may well have given Zoroastrians an easy foothold in
the western part of the Persian empire. Nevertheless, the Magi never
ceased to exert their influence, and their fame spread far and wide in the
ancient world. Even Zoroaster himself was considered a Magus by the
 Introduction I 25

Greeks. Another of the many unresolved questions is the role the Magi
played in the formation of Zoroastrianism as manifested in the Younger
Avesta. Positive evidence of their influence is almost nil, however. In the
first place, they are mentioned only once (Y. 65.7) in what appears to be a
later interpolation in an already tardive text. Secondly, with few excep-
tions (see the commentaries to Aradwi Sura Anahita and to Tishtrya,
sects. 9 and 12), the Younger Avesta is exclusively eastern Iranian in
language and content. Even a casuistic text like the Vendidad, which is
often ascribed to Magian composers, contains not a single reference to the
Magi or to western Iran, though the Hellenistic Greek system of measure-
ment is used. On the other hand, the composition of the Younger Avesta
is such that one cannot escape the conclusion, I believe, that it is mostly
the redaction of older materials by people who poorly understood the
language of the original. If, as is commonly thought, the oldest redaction
took place some time during the fifth century B.C., what better candidates
are there for this work than the Magi, whose language was quite different
from Avestan?
Despite their obscurity, the Gathas bear the unmistakable mark of a
well-conceived system of thought. Just the opposite is true of the Younger
Avesta. Whatever it has gained in lucidity, it has lost in coherence. It is
openly eclectic. The Old Iranian religion that Zarathushtra sought to re-
form appears thinly disguised as the religion of the prophet. Everywhere
one encounters the clumsy device of introducing non-Zarathushtrian
materials as revelations made to Zarathushtra by Ahura Mazda. A typical
example is the opening stanza of the Yasht to Mithra where "Ahura
Mazda said to Zarathushtra . . . " What he said, namely that he created
Mithra equal to himself, would have been an outrage to Zarathushtra. The
entire remainder of the hymn is a collection of material about Mithra
which largely ignores Zarathushtra and Ahura Mazda. How is one to
explain this perplexing about-face?
I offer the following explanation, which, it must be understood, is
necessarily conjecture. In order to reckon with the fact that eastern Ira-
nian religion throughly dominated Zoroastrianism, we must assume that
before its full impact had been felt in the West, Zarathushtrianism had
already made a grand accommodation with the old religion to the extent
that most of the deities, together with their hymns, were accepted into the
religion, all nominally subordinate to Ahura Mazda. The reason for the
large-scale compromise of Zarathushtra's teaching was probably one of
political and religious necessity. The policy of the Achaemenids on reli-
gious diversity was one of tolerance, as, for example, in their treatment of
Jews. Under these conditions the Zarathushtrian movement must have
soon come to terms with the reality that the way to growth and power was
 26 I Introduction

not uncompromising antagonism, but accommodation. Once the gods of

the old religion were sanctioned, people would have been far more recep-
tive to Zarathushtrian doctrines, which did not outrage traditional piety.
After having consolidated their position in the East, especially in Seistan,
and bringing with them a sizable mass of texts in the sacred Avestan
language, the Zoroastrians moved to the West, i.e., Media and Persis. As
they gained royal favor, the Magi, out of an instinct for survival, con-
verted, and in time they became a dominant force. Since Zoroastrianism
already possessed a sacred language, Median and Old Persian had to be
abandoned and the Avestan scriptures learned. Evidently, Avestan was
never well understood and fell into disuse in its new geographical setting.
This accounts for the patchwork nature of many of the Yashts and other
texts, as well as the terribly inept handling of the language in texts such as
the Vendidad, which must have been substantially composed in Arsacid
times.
Before passing on to the texts themselves, I shall outline briefly the
nature of the literary sources for old Iranian religion and then consider in
some detail the problems of textual criticism.

Old Iranian Religious Literature

There are two indigenous sources for Old Iranian religion. The most
important is the Zoroastrian canon known as the Avesta. Its content is
entirely religious. The other source is the corpus of Achaemenid inscrip-
tions in the Old Persian language. As royal inscriptions, their purpose is
largely political and propagandistic, yet most of these inscriptions make at
least some reference to religious matters, while some treat of religion in
considerable detail. The present work includes materials from both. In
addition, there are many Zoroastrian works in a Middle Persian dialect
called Book-Pahlavi that purport to be translations of lost Avestan texts.
Translations of these translations are not included here for the reason that
most of them appear to be quite late works reflecting a period of religious
history belonging to the Arsacid and the Sasanid periods; of those that
seem to preserve ancient materials, the absence of the original texts has
served as a deterrent for inclusion.
According to Zoroastrian texts written in the ninth century A.D., well
after the advent of Islam, but at a time when the religious community still
enjoyed some strength, the canon, called Avesta 'traditional, authorita-
tive text', consisted of an immense corpus containing twenty-one divi-
sions (Nasks). The summary of the Nasks given in the ninth-century
Denkard shows that the Sasanid Avesta contained a wide variety of texts
 Introduction I 27
covering such categories as the original Songs (Gathas) of Zarathushtra,
liturgies, and a host of priestly instructions and materials, extensive trea-
tises on scholastic learning and law, and miscellaneous material including
the Yashts. Because of the vicissitudes suffered by Zoroastrians in Iran,
as well as by those who found refuge in India during the succeeding
centuries, the once glorious Sasanid Avesta was lost. All that remains of it
today is a fragment containing texts primarily of importance to ritual.
Despite the fact that the Avesta became only a ritual prayer book, it
contains a surprising wealth of ancient literary material, as well as much
that has little to recommend it to either students of religion or of litera-
ture. Since the present anthology contains only those selections from the
Avesta known as the Yasna, the Yashts, and the Vendidad, we shall limit
our discussion to these.
As its name implies, the Yasna (Worship) contains the texts recited
during the performances of the yasna. It is made up of some seventy-two
sections of diverse style, origin, and content. Many of them are little more
than long invocation lists; others, like those to Horn and Srosh, are really
Yashts, which found their place in the Yasna due to ritual considerations,
and still others contain spells. By far the most important are a group of the
seventeen Gathas, which, except for one (Yasna 53), were composed by
Zarathushtra himself. These have been discussed already in reference to
the religion of Zarathushtra.
The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns to various deities.
Some preserve very ancient specimens of Old Iranian religious literature
while others are recent compilations of little religious value and certainly
no literary merit. They have been discussed in greater detail in respect to
Zoroastrianism.
The Vendidad, a work composed in faulty Avestan and of almost no
literary merit is nonetheless an invaluable source of information about
numerous matters of religious law, rituals, geography, and myth.
Beyond the heterogeneity of its content lies the problem of the variety
of language used in the composition of the Avesta. Two dialects, Gathic
and Young Avestan, can be distinguished. Of these, Gathic is in a number
of ways the more archaic. Young Avestan itself shows varying historical
levels. The so-called great Yashts, for instance, provide frequent exam-
ples of what one might call good Avestan, while the minor Yashts (e.g.,
Yasht 1) and texts like the Vendidad exemplify a degenerate state of the
language, a dead, poorly understood ecclesiastical language. In certain
cases like that of the Nirangistan (a ritual text), the language (aided by
corrupt manuscript tradition) has often degenerated to the point of being
unintelligible. Young Avestan texts, no matter how archaic much of their
content may be, have not escaped the clumsy hand of latter-day redac-
tors.
 Textual Criticism
The primary source material for all the great world religions is textual. To
be sure, texts can often be supplemented with relevant archaeological
remains, works of art, and the like, but in every instance the real data of
the religion resides in its texts. Texts vary a great deal, not only from
religious tradition to religious tradition, but also within one and the same
tradition. A large number of factors may contribute to the variety and
heterogeneity of a religion's textual tradition. Obvious examples are: (1) a
text may contain many historical layers representing centuries of compila-
tion; (2) different parts of a text may have been composed by different
people with different opinions, interests, and stylistic modes of expres-
sion; (3) the subject matter itself usually dictates changes in style: e.g., a
prophetic section of text will be radically different from a legalistic one,
an apocalyptic work will differ from a theological tract, etc.; (4) the in-
tended audience will also call for different subjects and styles; that is, a
god will hardly be interested in hearing the same things that a prospective
convert or a backslider will want to hear. Before one can begin to read a
text intelligently, one must be able to place the text in a proper context, to
discern its historical position, its authorship, its intention, and so on. The
most frequent errors made in the field of comparative religion are those
born of an imperfect appreciation of the problems of textual criticism.
Texts cannot simply be read and compared indiscriminately.
One's knowledge of ancient languages is different from that of modern
ones, in that one has, in most cases, no live informants, native speakers,
whom one can question regarding the meaning of words or syntactic
structures. If the corpus of extant literature is vast enough, the texts
themselves can become their own informants. When a literature is rather
narrowly circumscribed, however, one can be confronted with all sorts of
words and peculiarities of syntax that have no convenient source of elu-
cidation. Another vexing problem is that most texts, with the exception of
rock-cut inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, and the like, have endured a long
history of transmission from generation to generation, usually in the form
of manuscript copies, sometimes even in an oral tradition. As the history
of transmission lengthens, the opportunity for error naturally increases.
Often a philologist will be confronted with many manuscripts of a single
text, all of which may differ significantly from one another. The point to
be understood here is that a religious text is a fragile document whose
literal interpretation itself may be difficult.
 Introduction I 29
As one turns to consider the Avesta in particular, one can say at the
outset that it presents one of the most opaque texts of all the world's
religious literature. This fact is due to its language, mode of composition,
and abysmal state of preservation.
Like Western Europe or the Indian subcontinent or Southeast Asia
today, ancient Iran, encompassing the modern states of Iran proper,
Afghanistan, parts of Iraq, Pakistan, and Soviet Central Asia, was an area
of cultural unity amid wide diversity. Although the Achaemenid empire,
founded by Cyrus the Great, did much to unify the many peoples who,
like their Indian relatives, called themselves Aryas, its monarchs were
always 'king of kings' (OPers xshayathya xshayathyanam, NPers shahan
shah). To the present day, cultural and linguistic regionalism has con-
tinued to play a decisive role in Iranian history. For the ancient period
with which I am concerned, only three different languages are attested to
even though Iranian linguistics indicates a far more complex situation.
These languages are: (1) Old Persian, known primarily through the
Achaemenid inscriptions, and spoken in the southwestern region of Parsa
(Persis); (2) Median, a language spoken in the northwestern region of
Mada (Media); and (3) Avestan, the religious language of the Avesta
preserved in the two dialects, Gathic and Young Avestan. It is not known
for certain just where these dialects were spoken, but it is plain from both
their linguistic form and the cultural-geographic references that they were
native to eastern Iran, though probably not so far east as the Pamirs and
the Hindu Kush.
It is impossible to date the Avesta with any degree of accuracy. As
mentioned above, the dates for Zarathushtra's life are the subject of
heated debate. Some hold that he was a contemporary of the Vedic rsis,
which would place him in the second half of the second millennium B.C.
Others argue that he was active at the beginning of the sixth century B.C.
(see p. 16). Wherever the truth lies, everyone now agrees that he cannot
have lived much beyond the first decades of the sixth century, that is,
before the rise of the Achaemenid empire. The situation with the Younger
Avesta is exceedingly confused in that it contains much material that is
very ancient, but in its present form has to be the work of redactors,
priests who compiled an often eclectic mixture of inherited traditions,
Zoroastrian "theology," and Magian casuistry. Scholars believe that the
redactions of the oldest portions of the Younger Avesta took place some
time during the last half of the fifth century B.C. In any case, the composi-
tion (not redaction) of the older sections, especially the great Yashts,
belongs to a time prior to the rise of the Achaemenids. Crucial in all of this
is that the Indo-Iranians did not know any script. They were illiterate in
the sense that all their rich literature was oral. The first uses of writing in
 30 I Introduction

both India and Iran were in the areas of commerce and government. The
priesthood and literati especially had nothing but scorn for the written
word. In the Achaemenid empire, written business was carried out, not in
Old Persian, whose cuneiform script was invented only for formal inscrip-
tions, but rather in the Semitic Aramaic language or in Elamite. The first
script used for an eastern Iranian language was the Greek alphabet
adapted to the Bactrian language of the first or second century A.D.
Therefore, one can be absolutely sure that Avestan originally had no
script, its literature being passed on orally from generation to generation.
The next question is, "When was the Avesta first put into writing?"
There is a tradition current in the Pahlavi books of the ninth century A.D.
that prior to the "evil rule of Alaksandar the Roman" (i.e., Alexander the
Great) the entire Avesta existed, written in gold upon ox hides and kept in
the archives at Istaxr. These Alexander burned. Although the Pahlavi
books are ambiguous, it seems that a second redaction of the Avesta
consisting of a written text only took place as late as the middle of the
sixth century A.D. under the patronage of the great Sasanid king Xusrou
I. For this a new script was invented, based on the contemporary Pahlavi
script. Two points are to be made here. First, the story of the ox hides can
be given little historical credence, in that it is an obvious piece of apolo-
getics calculated to show the Muslims that Zoroastrianism was genuinely
a Religion of the Book. Secondly, although there is internal evidence to
support the idea that some form of the Avesta written in a Semitic script
existed prior to the Sasanid text, not a single remnant of this hypothetical
text exists. It would be idle to speculate about its antiquity or even its
precise form or content. The compilation of the Sasanid Avesta was
probably based on both oral traditions and upon whatever written mate-
rials there were.
After the ninth century, the history of Zoroastrianism is rather sad. An
oppressed, albeit tolerated, minority, the Zoroastrian community fell on
hard times. During the early part of the tenth century, a group emigrated
from Xorasan to the western Indian state of Gujarat, where they became
the so-called Parsis. Under conditions of poverty and backwardness, the
textual tradition suffered terribly. Manuscripts were lost, and copies were
bungled. It was only Western orientalism and the vastly improved social
and economic position of the Indian Parsis under the British Raj that
saved the Zoroastrian textual tradition from inevitable destruction. The
situation today is that, although there are numerous Avestan manuscripts,
the earliest goes back only to the fourteenth century.
Because of these developments, the Avesta, such as it comes to us
today, is a battered fragment of what one can imagine to have existed in,
say, the fifth century B.C. In many ways it is a wonder that this great relic
 Introduction 131

of Iran's ancient religious heritage has been preserved. One is also in a

position to appreciate how difficult it is to interpret such a text. To begin
with, one's most basic understanding of the language of the text is often
imperfect, owing primarily to the poor manuscript tradition, but also to
other problems inherent in the interpretation of ancient texts. Then one is
confronted with a host of problems concerning dating, relative chronolo-
gy, authorship, and authenticity. Somehow weathering this storm of dif-
ficulties, however, one may hope to proceed onward to a deeper under-
standing of its religious and symbolic content.
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Reading Selections
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 1. Zarathushtra
The Cow's Lament (Yasna 29)
Probably the best known and in many ways the most interesting of the
Gathas is the so-called "Cow's Lament," (Yasna 29). In the form of
dramatic dialogue it expresses the suffering of the Cow at the hands of the
forces of the Lie. She cries out to Ahura Mazda and the other Ahuras
(i.e., the Amssha Spontas) for an explanation of her wretched condition.
In particular, she despairs over her abandonment, her lack of an adequate
herdsman for her protection. After some discussion born of indecision,
since the Ahuras seem unable to find her a proper protector, Zarathushtra
is recognized as the only one fit for the job. The choice of Zarathushtra is
less than pleasing to the Cow, who regards him as a weakling. She must
make do with Zarathushtra, however, and the Gatha ends with an incon-
clusive prayer for the granting of power to Zarathushtra.
The Gatha is difficult to understand in detail for a variety of reasons.
One of the most obvious problems is that the dialogue is so complex that
one cannot be sure in many cases who is speaking or, for that matter, who
is being spoken to. One must assume that the narrator, who introduces
the discourse in sts. 1, 2, 6, and 9, is Zarathushtra himself. It is also clear
that in these stanzas the Cow, the Fashioner of the Cow, and Ahura
Mazda speak. In regard to the remaining stanzas, matters are not
as straightforward. St. 3 is so obscure that almost nothing certain can
be said about it, though one might assume that the speaker is Truth
(Asha), who is questioned in st. 2. St. 4 could well be a continuation of st.
3, but it makes more sense to see it and st. 5 as issuing from Zarathushtra,
who takes up the narration again in st. 7. To the latter is appended a
question probably directed to Ahura Mazda. St. 8 is persumably spoken
by Good Mind (Wohu Manah). The final two stanzas are again spoken by
Zarathushtra. With the help of this outline, one can see that the Gatha
takes place in the context of the two supplicants, the Cow and Zarathush-
tra, on the one hand, and the divine Ahuras, on the other; and, further,
35
 36 I Zarathushtra
that there is dialogue not only between these two levels of being but also
among the Ahuras themselves.
The identity of the Fashioner of the Cow (Gsush tashan) is not com-
pletely certain. Historically he probably derives from the Indo-Iranian
figure of the Artisan, known in the earlier parts of the Rgveda as Tvastr
and in the Avesta as Thvorsshtar (see st. 6), while within Zarathushtra's
theological system he has been transformed into Spsnta Mainyu, the
creative aspect of Ahura Mazda, without ever completely losing his inde-
pendence. The fact that Zarathushtra almost always (except in Y. 51.7)
preserves the traditional nomenclature for this figure, instead of subsum-
ing him completely under the Amasha Spsnta, gives the immediate im-
pression that the "Cow's Lament" is based somehow on inherited tradi-
tion, that it is not simply Zarathushtra's creation. That this is the case has
been shown by several scholars, most comprehensively, however, by B.
Lincoln.10 According to Lincoln, the Indo-Iranians were the unique pos-
sessors of a myth of the "Bovine's Lament," which, existing as an elab-
oration of the more widespread Indo-European myth of the cattle raid,
dramatized the conflict between warriors and priests over rightful posses-
sion of cattle. In the myth (obviously a priestly creation) the Cow com-
plains to the deities about her mistreatment at the hands of warrior raiding
parties. The deities take counsel and subsequently decide to entrust the
Cow to a priest, who becomes the legitimate owner of cows and so of their
products, essential in the ritual service of the gods. I find myself in agree-
ment with Lincoln as to the origin of the "Bovine's Lament" in the
context of the Aryan pastime, cattle raiding; yet I cannot accept the
remainder of the reconstruction as involving a class struggle. In the case
of the Indian evidence dealing with Vasistha (the priest) and Visvamitra
(the warrior), the theme of caste conflict is obvious; yet, appearing as it
does in the Rdmdyana epic, could the myth not equally well be an Indo-
Aryan reinterpretation along caste lines? When one turns to the Iranian
evidence (including Yt. 10.38, sts. 84-86; see sect. 3), one finds that cattle
raiders are indeed active, yet the element of class conflict is inconspic-
uous. The reason for this is that cattle raiding, though carried on by
fighting men, was something that an entire community ultimately partici-
pated in and benefitted from. Since there is no evidence that priests
formed their own communities independent of warriors, the idea that the
Indo-Iranian myth portrayed a situation of warrior groups stealing from
unarmed priests who had no other recourse than the gods and their own
magic is hard to accept. In fact, if I read Y. 29.9 correctly, the Cow not
only despairs at having a priest to look after her, but also anticipates a
powerful ruler who will back Zarathushtra, a figure realized in the person
of his eventual patron, Wishtaspa.
 Zarathushtra I 37
Until recent years there has been general agreement that, along broad
lines, the "Lament of the Soul of the Cow" is an allegorical portrayal of
the conflict of two ways of life and religion in eastern Iran, and of
Zarathushtra's struggle to establish his religious way of life. Zarathushtra,
the Soul of the Cow, and the Ahuras represent a peace-loving, sedentary
form of agriculture in which animal husbandry played an important role.
Pitted against them are the wild, lawless nomads and persistent followers
of the old ways, all worshippers of the Daewas. On this level, the conflict
is one that recurs at different historical moments throughout Iranian his-
tory. The conflict is essentially sociological. On another level, the conflict
is seen as not so much sociological as religious, and specifically ritualistic.
That is, the daewas who have chosen Falsehood perform violent, orgias-
tic, and bloody sacrifices, whereas Zarathushtra and the followers of
Truth respect the Cow, treating her in a ritually proper manner. Against
this more commonplace interpretation, another theory has been gaining
currency in recent discussions by S. Insler11 and H.-P. Schmidt,12 name-
ly, that the Cow in the Gathas has little to do with "the cow in the
meadow" who is threatened by cattle raiders and cruelly sacrificed by evil
priests; rather she is an allegorical figure representing religious vision, the
daena. The theory gains some support from the Rgveda, where on occa-
sion the cow (dhenu or gav) is undoubtedly used as a metaphor for poetry
or poetic vision (dhi). It also allows one to make sense of some rather
recondite Gathic verses. Unlike the Rgveda, however, the Gathas never
make the equation gaw = daena (also from the root d(h)i) explicit. Con-
sidering the over-all obscurity of these texts, this fact leaves one hesitant
to journey further into the unknown. It may well be that, as Schmidt
hopes, further research will establish the theory on firmer ground, but for
now it should be maintained only as an hypothesis, which should not
divert one from trying to understand Zarathushtra's message in more
concrete terms. For example, is anything to be gained by searching out a
hidden meaning in Ahura Mazda's clear statement in st. 6 that "the
Artificer fashioned thee for the husbandman and herdsman"?
To sum up, then, one may say that the "Cow's Lament" is based on an
ancient mythic theme of the Cow's suffering at the hands of raiders.
Zarathushtra has reworked the myth to reflect his perception of the world,
a world where the peace-loving followers of Ahura Mazda are pitted
against foes who practice cattle raiding. Although the conclusion can be
drawn from other Gathic contexts that the daewas required ritual treat-
ment of the Cow, abhorrent to Zarathushtra, this element is not apparent
in the "Lament." Further, one must entertain the possibility that for
Zarathushtra the theme of the "Cow's Lament" was to be understood on
a spiritual as well as this more mundane level. Here the myth has become
 38 I Zarathushtra
an allegory for the vicissitudes suffered by the righteous man's soul in its
quest for the "good vision."

Yasna 29
1. The Soul of the Cow lamented to you: For whom have you deter-
mined me? Who fashioned me? Wrath and Violence, Harm, Daring,
and Brutality (each) have bound me! I have no other pastor than you—
so appear to me with good husbandry!
2. Then the Fashioner of the Cow asked Asha (Truth): Hast thou a ratu*
for the Cow such that you are able to give him, together with a herds-
man, zeal for fostering the Cow? Whom do you want as a lord for her,
who, hostile toward Liars, may repel Wrath?
3. [Obscure.]
4. Mazda is most mindful of the declarations which have been made
previously (?) by gods (daewas) and men and those which shall be made
afterward (?), (for) he is the decisive Lord. Thus may it be for us as he
may will!
5. Thus we both are calling out to the Lord with outstretched hands, my
(soul) and the Soul of the pregnant Cow, in order that we may address
(?) Mazda with questions. (For, as matters now stand,) there is no
possibility of) continuing life for the righteously living husbandman
(residing) among Liars.
6. Then Ahura Mazda, knowing, spoke (these) words through his life-
breath (?): Not one (of us) has found an ahu, nor even a ratu in accord-
ance with Truth. So, indeed, the Artificer fashioned thee for the hus-
bandman and the herdsman.
7. Ahura Mazda, in agreement with Asha, fashioned the mathra of (?)
(from?) butter and (also) milk for the Cow, he (who) through (his)
commandment is beneficial for those who are undernourished (?).
Whom dost thou have (for us) through Good Mind, who will give us
two to men?
8. Here I have found this one who alone listens to our commandments,
Zarathushtra the Spitamid. He wants, O Mazda, to recite hymns of
praise for us and Asha, if I should bestow on him sweetness of speech.
9. The Soul of the Cow lamented: Must I suffer a powerless caretaker—
the speech of a man without strength—whom I wish to be a powerful
ruler? When ever shall he come to exist who can give him a helping
hand?

*Meanings of untranslated terms are given in the Glossary.

 Zarathushtra I 39
10. O Lord, may you (Ahuras) give power and dominion to them, that
(dominion?) through Good Mind by which he might grant good living
and peace. I, in any case, consider thee, O Mazda, to be the original
possessor of this.
11. Where are Asha and Wohu Manah and Xshathra? Now you should
accept me, through Asha, O Mazda, for (giving) instruction to the great
community (?). O Lord, (come) now to us (here) below on account of
our liberality to such as you.

The Two Spirits (Yasna 30.3-6; 45.2)

The stanzas in Yasna 30, together with 45.2, allude to the encounter
between the two Spirits, the primordial Twins. The mythology of the
Twins, as already indicated (Introduction, p. 19), extends back into proto-
Indo-European religion and is to be found in other variants elsewhere in
Iranian myth, especially in the figure of Yama (the Twin). With
Zarathushtra the myth has undergone a reinterpretation, which accords
well with his general propensity to rework inherited ideas in order to
express his own vision of the dualistic cosmological and ethical situation
facing mankind. In keeping with the general practice of Indo-Iranian
hieratic poetry, Zarathushtra assumes that the myth is already well
known to his audience and therefore does not stand in need of any
straightforward exposition; rather he is seeking to interpret the myth. The
two preceding stanzas are obscure enough to make it impossible to know
to whom the poem is addressed, but one can recognize from the verb
forms that a group is called upon to listen, whether they be the Ahuras,
his own followers, or mankind in general. If I am correct in interpreting
the term xwafna (st. 3), the basic meaning of which is 'sleep, dream', as
'vision', then one may conclude that Zarathushtra's inspiration for his
reinterpretation of the ancient myth derives from a direct religious experi-
ence.
One of the initially bewildering features of Zarathushtra's exposition is
his use of verbal tenses. This difficulty is rooted in the fact that the
Indo-Iranian languages possessed a special verb form, the injunctive,
which is reserved for the expression of myth and timeless truths. Whereas
one tends to regard all events, whether mythological or not, as taking
place in a nonrecurring historical order, archaic man understood mythical
events, which took place in mythological time, as being everpresent. To
say that the two primordial Spirits chose good and evil "in the beginning"
implies that they do so in the present as well. This is not to imply that
archaic man had no real notion of past, present, and future; rather, it is a
recognition of his awareness of an atemporal dimension that cuts across
 40 I Zarathushtra
temporality. The problem is that we lack words to express adequately this
subtlety of thought. If one translates the injunctive with the past tense,
one relegates the action to history; if one uses the present, one excludes
that aspect of the action that took place in illo tempore, i.e., in mytholog-
ical time. In reading the text, therefore, one must understand that the
myth of the two Spirits is also a present reality. Furthermore, it is present
reality in the sense that the two Spirits now contend with each other not
only on an individual level but also in the cosmos. Bearing in mind that
Zarathushtra uses abstractions (for example, 'Good Mind' or 'Devotion')
to refer to states of mind as well as to divine entities, one comprehends
that for him the macrocosmic struggle is simultaneously occurring in the
human microcosm. Each one of us recapitulates the cosmic drama, and,
as in the case of the two Spirits, man holds the keys to his own destiny in
his free exercise of choice between good and evil, between Truth and the
Lie.

Yasna 30.3-6
3. Now, these are the two original Spirits who, as Twins, have been
perceived (by me?) through a vision. In both thought and speech, (and)
in deed, these two are what is good and evil. Between these two, the
pious, not the impious, will choose rightly.
4. Furthermore, the two Spirits confronted each other; in the beginning
(each) create(d) for himself life and nonlife, so that (?) in the end there
will be the worst existence for the Drugwants, but the best Mind for the
Righteous.
5. Of these two Spirits, the deceitful (drugwant) chose the worst course
of action, (while) the most beneficent Spirit who is clothed in the har-
dest stones (chose) Truth, (as) also (do) those who believingly propitiate
Ahura Mazda.
6. Between these two (Spirits) the daewas did not choose rightly at all
since, while they were taking council among themselves, delusion came
upon them, so that they chose the worst Mind. Then, all together, they
ran to Wrath with which they infect the life of man.

Yasna 45.2
Now I shall proclaim the original two Spirits of existence. About the
two, the very beneficent would have spoken thus to the evil one: Nei-
ther our minds nor (our) pronouncements nor (our) intellects nor yet
(our) choices nor (our) words nor yet (our) deeds, nor (our) visions
(daena), nor (our) souls (urwan) are in agreement.
 Zarathushtra I 41

Zarathushtra Questions Ahura Mazda (Yasna 44)

This Gatha treats a broad range of subjects central to Zarathushtra's
religious vision. Although the statements in each stanza are posed in the
form of questions addressed to Ahura Mazda, it is clear that to a large
measure they are rhetorical, for what Zarathushtra seeks is divine con-
firmation of his various doctrines. The form of the Gatha is of particular
interest in that it illustrates the intimacy and directness of Zarathushtra's
relationship with Ahura Mazda, a feature that is present throughout the
Gathic corpus. The opening stanza establishes the basis of his question-
ing. In it Zarathushtra reminds Ahura Mazda of their friendship and thus
of the propriety of his persistent demand that he be answered correctly.
One may remark parenthetically that reminding a god of friendship is a
device found also in the Rgveda on the part of the seer Vasistha in his
conversations with Varuna.13
The second stanza is too obscure to be translated with any confidence,
though it seems to be concerned with "the basis of the Best Existence"
and apparently with the one who will bring it about. Fortunately, sts. 3-5
are as clear as one could wish. Their rhetorical nature is transparent; but
any doubts that might linger are dispelled in st. 7, in which Ahura Mazda
is recognized "as the Creator of everything," through his creative aspect,
Spsnta Mainyu, the Beneficent Spirit.
In contrast to sts. 3-7, which deal mostly with questions relating to the
creation and ordering of the cosmos, the remainder of the Gatha (sts.
8-20) treats a variety of what can be broadly defined as doctrinal ques-
tions. In sts. 9-11, Zarathushtra asks about the daena, the inspired vision
that is to form the basis of his community of followers. St. 12 reflects the
situation in which Zarathushtra found himself as the prophet of the new
faith in confrontation with spokesmen for the old religion. Having already
acknowledged himself (in st. 11) as the true prophet, he asks for help in
distinguishing followers of the Truth from those who follow the Lie. Some
interpreters have seen in this stanza that Zarathushtra is referring to
himself as an ashawan (righteous man) vis-a-vis his opponents in debate.
This is certainly a plausible explanation, yet one can also imagine a situa-
tion in which opponents who can be won over are to be distinguished from
those who are fundamentally evil and incorrigeable. Sts. 13-21 continue
the theme of Zarathushtra's mission against the Lie and the strategy for
dealing with its followers. It is uncertain what is meant in st. 14 by "a
great schism," since this is a purely etymological translation of a word
which should mean something like 'split'. Perhaps Zarathushtra followed
a policy of "divide and conquer." Although st. 15 is not entirely clear, it
seems that antagonisms have reached the point of open conflict by re-
 42 I Zarathushtra

course to arms; in typical fashion (e.g., Yt. 5.20) Zarathushtra asks the
deity for victory. In st. 16 Zarathushtra asks for signs that will show who
is or are to lead the community. Since the expression W9rdthra(m)-jan
'smasher of resistance' (see sect. 5) is characteristically a warrior epithet,
it is likely that this term refers to a warrior patron, as indeed Wishtaspa
was. It is probable that the judge (ratu) refers to Zarathushtra himself (cf.
Yt. 13.152). St. 17 is quite obscure, though it can be made out that, as in
Y. 29.9, Zarathushtra is concerned with the authority of his voice. St. 18
is quite a puzzle, not only because of the obscurity of its final lines but
also because of the strange reward it mentions. Some have seen in the
horses (aspa) and camel (ushtra) the payment made to a priest for services
rendered. Since—if the Veda is any guide in such matters—one would
expect cows to be given to a priest, Insler has suggested that this is a
veiled allusion to Wishtaspa and Jamaspa (as stallions of their families)
and to Frashaoshtra (Frasha-ushtra).14 The last stanza to begin with "this
I ask thee . . . ," like the preceding one, is capable of various interpreta-
tions; if st. 18 refers to the priest's payment, however, as I believe it does,
then st. 19 must also have to do with God's punishment for those who
behave deceitfully toward the priest, presumably Zarathushtra himself.
Unfortunately, there is no further information to clarify the context of st.
18 and 19. The final stanza (20), while still in the form of a question, is
structured differently from the others. Whether it originally formed part
of the Gatha or was added later from some other source is impossible to
say. Although its interpretation is very insecure, one finds again the
theme of the Cow's mistreatment, here at the hands of priests hostile to
Zarathushtra.

Yasna 44
\. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord! Concerning reverence
(nomah)—how reverence for ones such as you (is to take place); (and)
O Mazda, (how) one such as thee might instruct a dear (friend) such as
me, and moreover (how one such as thee might instruct) us through
Truth in order to establish dear relationships (?) so that (one such as
thee?) might come to us through Good Mind.
2. [Obscure.]
3. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
Who, through the generative act (?), is the original father of Asha?
Who established the path(s) of the sun and stars?
Who is it through whom the moon (now) waxes, now wanes?
Even these, O Mazda, and others, I wish to know.
4. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
 Zarathushtra I 43

Who supports the earth below and (keeps) the heavens (above) from
falling down? Who (supports) the waters and plants?
Who yokes the two steeds to the wind and clouds?
Who, O Mazda, is the Creator of Good Mind?
5. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
What artificer created days and nights?
What artificer created sleep and wakefulness?
Who is it through whom dawn, midday, and evening (come to pass),
reminding the religious (man) of his duty?
6. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
(Tell me) whether the things I shall proclaim are true: Devotion
(Armaiti) establishes Truth firmly through (good) actions . . .
[obscure].
For whom didst thou fashion the pregnant Cow who produces felic-
ity?
7. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
Who fashioned honored Devotion together with Dominion?
Who made by means of his soul (?) a son respectful of his father?
Through these (questions?) I am serving thee, O Mazda, recognizing
(thee) as the Creator of everything by means of Spanta Mainyu.
8. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
—In order that I may keep in mind thy instructions, O Mazda, and
the words which I have exchanged with Good Mind and (the words?)
which are to be correctly acquired through Truth concerning (?) life, to
what goods shall my soul proceed in the future (?)?
9. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
How am I to perfect my Vision (daena) which the master of a rich (?)
estate would proclaim by his lofty authority—one such as thee, pos-
sessing much wealth, O Mazda, sitting in (thy) seat with Truth and
Good Mind?
10. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
(Tell me about) that Vision which is the best of those which exist,
which in the company of Truth promotes my people, (which) through
the words and action of Devotion—my insight—desiring (thy) posses-
sions, correctly shall see thee, O Mazda.
11. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
How is Devotion to disperse among those to whom thy Vision shall
be told, O Mazda? I have been overwhelmingly acknowledged by them
as thy original (follower): (therefore) lookest thou upon all others with
enmity of spirit!
 44 I Zarathushtra

12. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!

(Among those) with whom I shall debate: who is righteous (ashawan)
or who is deceitful (drugwant)? Which of the two: is (this one) evil or is
that one evil? The deceitful one who keeps (?) me from (?) thy bounty—
is not that one (evil)? This one is not considered to be evil.
13. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
How are we to drive the Lie away from us (and) onto those who,
filled with disobedience, do not strive for association with Truth nor
take pleasure in the counsel of Good Mind?
14. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
How may I deliver the Lie into the hands of Truth in order to destroy
it through the mathras of thy teaching, to create a great schism (?)
among the liars and to bring torments and evils upon them, O Mazda?
15. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
If thou, together with Truth, art capable of protecting this (?)—when
the two hostile (?) armies come together—by means of those commands
which thou desirest to keep secure, to which of these two, to whom wilt
thou give victory?
16. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
Who is (one who can) smash resistance in order to protect, by means
of thy teaching, those who exist?
Let signs be given me. O Healer of Life, promise us a Judge (ratu)! So
may Obedience go to him through Good Mind, to him, whomever it
may be whom thou wishest!
17. [Obscure.]
18. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
How may I win this reward: ten mares with a stallion and a camel so
that . . . [obscure].
19. This I ask thee, speak to me truly, O Lord!
What shall be the immediate punishment in this (case) for him who
will not give the reward to him who has won it, who . . . (?)
I know what will be his final (reward)!
20. Have the daewas, O Mazda, ever been good rulers?—so I ask it—.
[Text very uncertain.]

2. Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda is the supreme being of Zoroastrianism. In the Gathas and
in the Achaemenid inscriptions, especially those of Darius the Great, he is
 Ahum Mazda I 45

described to us in terms that show that he was experienced both as the

supreme creator of the universe, the mighty lord who ultimately controls
the destiny of all, and as a personal deity of those who worship him. This
latter experience of intimacy, of a close and intensely personal rela-
tionship with God, is unique in Old Iranian religion and is nowhere en-
countered in Vedic religion save in the Vasistha hymns to Varuna. In
surprising contrast to the Ahura Mazda of Zarathushtra and Darius, the
Ahura Mazda of the Younger Avesta is only a pathetic shadow of the
noble Wise Lord. It is not that he has been demoted, relegated to an
inferior position in the pantheon in the manner suffered by Varuna in the
Indian tradition. He still retains his honored status; yet he has been
sapped of all personality. The possible reasons for this situation are com-
plex and require some background.
The problem of the origin of Ahura Mazda has long been a point of
controversy among scholars. As I have already noted in the Introduction,
many Iranian gods have their counterparts in the Vedic pantheon. Such
correspondences exist under two forms: either two deities share a com-
mon name or they share common and unmistakable characteristics. Dis-
cussions about the origins and identities of Indo-Iranian deities have
usually been confused, because the participants have been unable to
agree on what might constitute identity. Also, in discussions, the histori-
cist fallacy has frequently been applied, namely, that by tracing the his-
tory of a deity back to some irreducible point one has necessarily arrived
at an essential understanding of the deity. While one should never under-
value the historical explanation, neither should one view it as exclusive or
sufficient in itself.
Since the name 'Ahura Mazda' does not occur outside Iran, one can
safely say, on one level, that he is a creation of the Iranian spirit. When
one discovers the meaning of the name and examines the constellation of
religious ideas surrounding Ahura Mazda, however, one is immediately
forced to draw comparisons with the great Vedic deity Varuna. Ahura
Mazda means 'Wise Lord'. In Avestan the name consists of two separate-
ly declined words, which, especially in the Gathas, need not appear con-
tiguously. Old Persian, representing a linguistically younger develop-
ment, has the two words coalesced into one ('urmzd'/ahuramazdd/). The
one exception is found in an inscription of Xerxes (XPc 10) in which the
independently declined ahurahya mazddha Curhy mzd'h) is an archaism
perhaps under the influence of Avestan usage. This manner of addressing
the supreme being as 'the wise lord' is encountered also in the Veda
where king Varuna is invoked as the 'wise lord' (asura praceta(h), RV
1.24.14) and elsewhere is referred to as 'the all-knowing lord' (asuro
visvdveda(h), RV 8.42.1). Although these epithets are by no means unique
 46 I Ahura Mazda
to Varuna, as mazda is in Ahura Mazda, the concept of a "wise, all-
knowing lord" must have been common to Indo-Aryans and Iranians.
Just as Ahura Mazda has no exact Vedic counterpart whose name
would be *Asura Medhd, so Varuna has no exact Iranian counterpart
*Wouruna. Since Varuna is a god of such manifest importance in the
Veda, however, it is difficult to imagine that he does not have a long
history extending back well into the proto-Indo-Iranian period. The
search for the "lost" wise lord Varuna in Iranian religion leads one
promptly to Ahura Mazda, for a number of reasons perhaps more com-
pelling than the epithets just discussed. In the first place, both supreme
deities are intimately connected with one of the most basic Indo-Iranian
religious concepts, Truth (Ved rta, Av asha, OPers (a)rta). (See Intro-
duction, p. 13.) Secondly, both are surrounded by a group of deities, who,
though not identical, bear certain resemblances to one another. They are
the Avestan Amasha Spsntas and the Vedic Adityas. Thirdly—a point
that is frequently overlooked—it is only Ahura Mazda and Varuna who
are the object of intense personal religious experience. To be sure, other
deities may be approached in Vedic or Avestan hymns with terms of
endearment by the supplicants; yet the language is the formal language of
hieratic poetry, lacking the unmistakable stamp of direct experience.
Fourthly, both are creators.
Against the case for the identification of Ahura Mazda with Varuna, it
has been argued that the points of similarity between them are deceptive,
that both deities may be innovations of their respective traditions, and
that the only true Indo-Iranian deity of this type is a shadowy figure called
simply Ahura or Asura in the Avesta and Rgveda respectively.15 Although
the problem may never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction, a partial
solution may lie in the recognition of a semantic obstacle. For those who
insist upon an identity of names alone, clearly there is no ground for
comparison. Also, for those for whom shared essential characteristics, in
the absence of a shared name, are sufficient grounds to claim identity, the
identification of Ahura Mazda and Varuna will fail owing to some essen-
tial differences (see sects. 3 and 4). What one must come to realize as
important from the comparative point of view is that certain culturally
shared concepts have become associated with the supreme deity in both
societies. To understand these together with the differences is the neces-
sary task of the comparativist.
Returning to purely Avestan developments, one has observed that the
nobility of Zarathushtra's and Darius' experience has suffered a debase-
ment in the Younger Avesta. Generally, when Ahura Mazda appears it is
in a dialogue with Zarathushtra in which his role is no more than to give
 Ahura Mazda I 47

authority to either a religious practice or to a piece of non-Zarathushtrian

literature. The Avestan Yasht to Ahura Mazda, given on pp. 51-55, is a
recent work that can claim no antiquity. Its faulty language and its motley
content, with its overriding concern for the magic of spells, show clearly
there was no Old Iranian, that is, pre-Zarathushtrian, Yasht tradition that
included Ahura Mazda. In fact, the author of this Yasht is quite at a loss
to know what to say about him. The explanation for this is to be found in
the nature of Ahura Mazda and in the degeneration of the Zarathushtrian
religious vision. The "Wise Lord" is basically an abstract form of deity.
In the absence of any vigorous flesh-and-blood mythology, such a god can
be realized only in the fullness of religious experience. Where the occa-
sion for such experience is wanting, a god like Ahura Mazda cannot help
but lose meaning, until, as in this Yasht, he is understood only in terms of
formulae like "most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the material world,
righteous." Ahura Mazda was, then, what the phenomenology of religion
calls a deus otiosus, a god who, because of his transcendence, is
irrelevant to everyday religious concerns. Such gods are supplanted by
more immanent deities active in the affairs of men. This process is man-
ifest in the religion of the Younger Avesta with the reinstatement of the
traditional gods. It is also seen in the course of the Achaemenid inscrip-
tions, in which at first Darius and his son Xerxes only occasionally refer
to 'the gods' or the 'gods of the royal house', but later, with Artaxerxes II
and III, the goddess Anahita (see sect. 10) and the great god Mithra (see
sect. 3) are invoked together with Ahuramazda.
The Achaemenid inscriptions are a unique source of information about
Old Iranian religion in that they can be dated and assigned to historical
personalities. They must be taken with a certain amount of caution when
used in reference to the Avesta, however. They belong to the language
and culture of southwestern Iran; the Avesta belongs to the eastern parts
of Iran (see Introduction). The propagandistic intent of the royal inscrip-
tions differs from that of the priestly authors of the Avesta. In spite of
these precautions, however, the two sources are wonderfully com-
plimentary. Beyond the amount of space devoted to the role of Ahur-
amazda, one finds in particular prominence the concern with the Lie
(drauga, Av druj), the very essence of moral, social, and political chaos.
The king, Ahuramazda's chosen representative on earth, is a speaker of
truth who maintains the just moral order within society while protecting
society from rebellion brought about by followers of the Lie. Finally, in
Xerxes' Daiwadana inscription, we encounter the fundamental antago-
nism between the gods (OPers baga, Av ahura, yazata, bagha) and the
antigods or demons (OPers daiwa, Av daewa).
 48 I Ahura Mazda

Inscriptions of Darius I (521-486 B.C.)

Rule by divine authority (DB I. 11-16)
Darius the king says: By the will of Ahuramazda I am king. Ahuramazda
delivered the kingship to me.
Darius the king says: These are the countries which came to me. By the
will of Ahuramazda I have become king over them: Persis, . . .
(There follows a list of satrapies.)
Darius the king says: These are the countries which came to me. By the
will of Ahuramazda they became my subjects, they bore me tribute.
Day and night they did what I told them.
Darius the king says: Among these countries, whatever man was loyal I
treated well, (but) whomever was unruly I punished well By the will of
Ahuramazda these countries behaved according to my law. They did as
I told them.
Darius the king says: Ahuramazda delivered this kingship to me. Ahur-
amazda bore me aid until I had secured this empire. By the will of
Ahuramazda I hold this empire.
Summary of his campaigns; religious and moral admonitions (DB IV.
2-67)
Darius the king says: This is what I did by the will of Ahuramazda in the
same year after I became king. I fought XIX battles. By the will of
Ahuramazda I won them. And I captured IX kings. One named
Gaumata was a Magus. He lied. Thus he said, "I am Bardiya, the son
of Cyrus." He made Persis rebellious. (There follows the list of the
kings who lied and made their countries rebellious. They were Agina
the Elamite; Nidintu-Bel the Babylonian, the false Nebuchadrezzar
son of Nabonitas; Martya the Persian, the false Immanish; Fraw(a)rti
the Mede, the false Xshathrita descendant of Cyaxares; Cigataxma the
Sagartian, a false descendant of Cyaxares; Frada the Margian;
Wahyazdata the Persian, another false Bardiya; Arxa the Armenian,
another false Nebuchadrezzar.)
Darius the king says: I captured these IX kings in these battles.
Darius the king says: These are the countries which became rebellious.
The Lie made them rebellious, because these (kings) lied to the people.
Afterward Ahuramazda placed them in my hands. I dealt with them at
my pleasure.
Darius the king says: You, whoever you are who shall be king afterward,
guard yourself diligently from the Lie. Punish well that man who shall
be a liar, if you should think, "My country shall be secure."
Darius the king says: This is what I did. By the will of Ahuramazda I did it
 Ahura Mazda I 49

in one and the same year. You, whoever you are who shall afterward
read this inscription which I made, may it convince you. Do not think
that this is a lie.
Darius the king says: O Ahuramazda, I swear this oath, that this is true; it
is not a lie; I did this in one and the same year.
Darius the king says: By the will of Ahuramazda there is also much else
that I have done, (but) that is not written down in this inscription. It is
not written down lest what I have done seem too much to him who
should read this inscription afterward (and) it not convince him and he
think it a lie.
Darius the king says: The former kings, as long as they were (kings), did
not do what I did by the will of Ahuramazda in one and the same year.
Darius the king says: Now let this convince you. Thus tell the people what
I have done; do not conceal it! If you do not conceal this proclamation
(and) tell it to the people, may Ahuramazda be a friend to you and may
your family be numerous and may you live long!
Darius the king says: If you should conceal this proclamation (and) not
tell it to the people, may Ahuramazda smite you and may you have no
family!
Darius the king says: This is what I did; in one and the same year I did it
by the will of Ahuramazda. Ahuramazda bore me aid, (as did) also the
other gods who exist.
Darius the king says: Ahuramazda bore me aid, (as did) also the other
gods who exist, for the reason that I was not unruly, I was not a liar, I
was not an evildoer, neither I nor my family transgressed. I did not deal
crookedly with either the weak or the strong. I treated him well who
cooperated with my house; I punished him well who (sought) to de-
stroy (it).
Victory for Darius through the worship of Ahuramazda (DB V.20-36)
Darius the king says: Afterward I went off to Scythia with the army, after
the Scythians who wear pointed hat(s). These Scythians fled from me.
When I came up to the (Oxus) river, I then crossed over it with the
whole army. Afterward I smote the Scythians greatly. I captured one
of them. He was brought bound to me. Then I made another (their)
chief according to my pleasure. Afterward the country became mine.
Darius the king says: Those Scythians were unruly and did not worship
Ahuramazda. I worshipped Ahuramazda. By the will of Ahuramazda I
dealt with them as I pleased.
Darius the king says: He who worships Ahuramazda will be blessed both
(while) living and (when) dead.
 50 I Ahum Mazda

Prayer to Ahuramazda (DPd 1-24)

Ahuramazda, the great, who is the greatest of the gods, He created Darius
the king; He delivered the kingship to him. By the will of Ahuramazda
Darius is king.
Darius the king says: This country, Persis, which Ahuramazda delivered
to me, which is beautiful, with good horses and men, by the will of
Ahuramazda and of me Darius the king, does not fear another (coun-
try).
Darius the king says: May Ahuramazda bear me aid together with the
gods of (the royal) house! And may Ahuramazda protect this country
from a hostile army, from famine, from the Lie. Let not a hostile army,
nor famine, nor the Lie come to this country. I pray (to) Ahuramazda
together with the gods of (the royal) house for this blessing. May
Ahuramazda together with the gods of (the royal) house bestow this
blessing on me.
Ahuramazda chose Darius (DSfS-22)
Darius the king says: Ahuramazda who is the greatest of the gods created
me. He made me king. He delivered the empire to me which is great
with good horses and men. By the will of Ahuramazda Wishtaspa my
father and Arshama my grandfather both were living when Ahuramaz-
da made me king over this earth. Such was Ahuramazda's pleasure that
of the entire earth he chose me, a man. He made me king over the
entire earth. I worshipped Ahuramazda, (and) Ahuramazda bore me
aid. He made successful for me what I commanded to be done. All that
I did was by the will of Ahuramazda.
(DNa 1-12, 30-35, 47-60)
A great god is Ahuramazda who created this earth, who created yonder
heaven, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made
Darius king, one king over many, one commander over many. I am
Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all
peoples, king of this great earth, extensive as it is.
Darius the king says: After Ahuramazda saw this earth in turmoil he
delivered it to me; he made me king; I am king by the will of Ahuramaz-
da.
Darius the king says: All this that was done, I did by the will of Ahur-
amazda. Ahuramazda bore me aid until I did what was to be done. May
Ahuramazda protect me from evil and my house and my country! I
pray (to) Ahuramazda for this. May Ahuramazda grant it to me! O
man, let not that which is Ahuramazda's command seem evil to you!
Do not stray from the straight path! do not be antagonistic!
 Ahura Mazda I 51
Xerxes' Daiwadana inscription (XPh 13-16, 28-56)
Xerxes the king says: By the will of Ahuramazda these are the countries
over which I was king. (There follows a satrapy list.)
Xerxes the king says: When I became king there was (one country),
among these which are written above, (which) revolted. Then Ahur-
amazda bore me aid. By the will of Ahuramazda I smote that country
and set it in its (proper) place. And among these countries was (one)
where formerly the daiwas were worshipped. Then by the will of Ahur-
amazda I destroyed that daiwa-temple. And I decreed, "Let the daiwas
not be worshipped!" There where formerly the daiwas were wor-
shipped, I worshipped Ahuramazda at the barssman (?) in accordance
with Truth (?). And there was another (matter) which had been done
badly. I made it good. All that I did 1 did by the will of Ahuramazda.
Ahuramazda bore me aid until I had done what was to be done. You,
whoever you are who (shall live) afterward, if you think, "May I be
happy while living and may I be blessed when dead," behave according
to that law which Ahuramazda established, worship Ahuramazda at the
barasman in accordance with Truth (?). The man who behaves accord-
ing to that law which Ahuramazda established and worships Ahuramaz-
da at the barasman in accordance with Truth (?), he becomes happy
while living and (is) blessed when dead.

Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd) Yasht (Yasht 1)

1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, Creator of the material world, righteous! What (aspect) of the
Holy Word is most powerful? What is most defensive (?) (victorious)?
What is most glorious? What is bravest?
2. what is (the best slayer in victory)? What is most curative? What best
overcomes the hostility of daewas and (evil) men? Of all of material
existence, what most affects (?) the mind? Of all of material existence,
what best cleanses the spirit?
3. Then Ahura Mazda said: Our name [i.e., Amasha Spantas], O Spita-
mid Zarathushtra, is what is most powerful of the Holy Word, that
(name is) most victorious, that (name is) most glorious, most brave,
4. most victorious, most curative, that (name) best overcomes the hos-
tility of daewas and (evil) men, that (name) out of all of material exist-
ence most affects the mind, that (name) out of all of material existence
best cleanses the spirit.
5. Then Zarathushtra said: Declare to me, O righteous Ahura Mazda,
that name of yours which is the greatest and the most beautiful and the
 52 / Ahum Mazda

bravest and the most victorious and the most curative and the best at
overcoming the hostility of daewas and (evil) men),
6. so that I may overcome all daewas and (evil) men, so that I may
overcome all sorcerers and witches, so that no one may overcome me,
neither a daewa nor yet an (evil) man, neither a sorcerer nor yet a
witch.
7. Then Ahura Mazda said: (First) I am called "He Who Is to Be Im-
plored," O righteous Zarathushtra; second, "Shepherd" (?); third,
. . . (?); fourth, "Asha Washishta"; fifth, "All the Good Created by
Mazda, the Seed of Asha"; sixth, I am "Intelligence"; seventh, "Intel-
ligent"; eighth, I am "Insight"; ninth, "Insightful";
8. tenth, I am "Beneficence"; eleventh, "Possessing Beneficence";
twelfth, "Lord" (Ahura); thirteenth, "Most Powerful"; fourteenth,
this "Unassailable" (?); fifteenth, "Invincible"; sixteenth, "He Who
Remembers (People's) Merit"; seventeenth, "All Perceiving"; eight-
eenth, "Curative"; nineteenth, I am "Creator"; twentieth, I am called
"Mazda."
9. You should worship me, O Zarathushtra, by day (and) by night with
libations which bear (me) glory (yasah), (and then) I, Ahura Mazda,
shall come to aid and support you; good Sraosha the companion of Ashi
will come to aid and support you; the waters and the plants and the
Frawashis of the Righteous will come to aid and support you.
10. If, O Zarathushtra, you want to overcome those hostilities (of)
daewas and men, (of) sorcerers and witches, (of) tyrants, kawis, and
karapans, (of) biped scoundrels and biped distorters of Truth and quad-
ruped wolves,
11. and the hostile army with a broad front, with a broad banner, then
recite these names during all the days and nights.
12. I am "Protector" and "Creator," I am "Protector" and "Knower,"
and I am "Spirit" and "Most Beneficent" (or "Most Beneficent Spir-
it"). I am called "Curative," I am called "Most Curative," I am called
"Priest," I am called "Supreme Priest," I am called "Lord," I am
called "Wise," I am called "Righteous," I am called "Most Right-
eous," I am called "Glorious," I am called "Most Glorious," I am
called "Seer of Much," I am called "Best Seer of Much," I am called
"Far-Seer," I am called "Best Far-Seer,"
13. I am called "Watcher," I am called "Pursuer," I am called
"Creator," I am called "Guardian," I am called "Protector," I am
called "Knower," I am called "Best Knower (?)," I am called "Seek-
ing Dominion," I am called "Seeking Dominion Most," I am called
. . . (?), I am called . . . (?).
 Ahura Mazda I 53

14. I am called "Without Deceit," I am called "Free From Deceit," I

am called "Warder," I am called "Overcoming Hostility," I am called
"Immediate Conquest," I am called "All Conquering," I am called
"All-Fashioner," I am called "(bestowing) All Felicity," I am called
"(bestowing) Much Felicity," I am called "Felicitous."
15. I am called "(Bestowing) Efficacious Profit," I am called "(Bestow-
ing) Efficacious Advantage," I am called "Possessing Profit," I am
called "Strong," I am called "Strongest," I am called "Truth," I am
called "High," I am called "Ruler," I am called "Highest Ruler," I am
called "Intelligent," I am called "Most Intelligent," I am called "Far-
Seeing"—and those are the names.
16. He who, in this material existence, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, recites
these names of mine (?) either by day or at night,
17. (who recites) either standing up or lying down, either lying down or
standing up, either girding on his girdle or loosening his girdle, either
setting forth from his residence or setting forth from his tribe, or setting
forth from his country, [going away to (another) country],
18. O man, not on this day, not on this night will (?) the (weapon?) of
one deceived by Wrath, whose mind is of the Lie, hit him, neither will
the a/cw, 16 nor the battle-axes (?), nor the knives, nor the maces, nor the
(sling) stones hit (him).
19. And these twenty names stand ready as (his) support and fortifica-
tion against the invisible Lie, the concupiscent, deceiving (Lie) and
against the destructive conjuror, against the all-destructive Deceiver
(Angra Mainyu), as if a thousand men would watch over one man.
20. [Repeat Y. 44.16 (p. 44).]
21. Homage to the Kawyan Xwaronah, homage to the Aryan homeland.
Homage to the Mazda-created Profit, homage to the river Daily a.
Homage to the immaculate river Anahita, homage to the entire right-
eous world.
Yathd ahu wairyo . . . [Repeat prayer ten times (p. 183).]
Ashsm wohu . . . [Repeat prayer ten times (p. 183).]
22. We worship the Ahuna wairya prayer.
We worship the Amosha Spsnta, most beautiful Best Truth.
We worship Strength and Prosperity and Power and Victory and
Glory and Might.
We worship opulent, glorious Ahura Mazda.
Yenghe hatam . . . [Repeat prayer (p. 182).]
23. Yathd ahu wairyo . . . [Repeat prayer twice.]
I dedicate worship and praise, power and might to opulent, glorious
Ahura Mazda.
 54 I Ahura Mazda

Asham wohu . . . [Repeat prayer.]

24. O Zarathushtra, you should forever protect the amicable man
against the inimical enemy. Do not let the friend go for a beating! Do
not abandon that law-abiding man to ill treatment, to disenfranchise-
ment (at the hands of his) oppressors, (that) man who will offer the
greatest sacrifice (but who) will demand (?) least of us, the Amasha
Spantas, for (his) sacrifice.
25. Wohu Manah is here in my house, O Zarathushtra,
Asha Wahishta is here in my house, O Zarathushtra.
Xshathra is here in my house, O Zarathushtra.
Sponta Armaiti is here in my house, O Zarathushtra.
Haurwatat and Amaratat, [both of whom are the reward of the right-
eous (people) who are going to the life beyond.] (are) here in my house.
26. This I know and understand, O righteous Zarathushtra, through my
intelligence and understanding, how the first existence was and how the
last existence will be.
27. A thousand cures! Ten thousand cures!
[Come to my aid, O Mazda, (and that of ?) well-built, handsome
Strength, Ahura-created Warathraghna, and conquering Superiority
and Spsnta Armaiti,]
And through Spsnta Armaiti destroy their hostility, cover their ears,
bind their hands together, smash their jaws, bind the binder (?).
28. Will the righteous man, O Mazda, conquer a liar? (Will) the right-
eous man conquer the Lie? (Will) the righteous man conquer a liar?
We worship Ahura Mazda's understanding for the maintenance of
the Holy Word.
We worship Ahura Mazda's intelligence for the retention of the Holy
Word.
We worship Ahura Mazda's speech for the proclamation of the Holy
Word.
We worship that mountain Ushi.dam, Ushi.darana, 17 by day (and) by
night with libations which bring (it) glory.
29. Then Zarathushtra said, "May she (Armaiti) put you, a scoundrel, in
the ground!" By the eyes of Spanta Armaiti the scoundrel was cast
down.
30. A thousand cures! Ten thousand cures!
We worship the frawashi of the righteous man who is called
Asmo.x wan want. Then as a believer (?) I shall worship imploringly (the
frawashis) of the other righteous (men).
By the (propitiation) of the strong Mazda-created Gaoksranal
We worship the strong Mazda-created Gaokarsna.
 Mithra I 55

31. [Repeat st. 28 from "We worship Ahura Mazda's understanding

. . ."to the end.]
Asham wohu.
[Repeat six times: st. 30 from "We worship the frawashi. . ."to the
end; st. 28 from "We worship Ahura Mazda's understanding . . ."to
the end.]
Asham wohu.
32. We worship the creatrix Spanta Armaiti . . . ( ? ) .
Therefore, we should make him, the greatest of all, Ahura Mazda,
the ahu and ratu for the killing of lying Angra Mainyu, for the killing of
Wrath with the bloody club, for the killing of the daewas from Mazan-
daran, and (for the killing) of all the lying daewas from Warana, for the
promotion of opulent, glorious Ahura Mazda, for the promotion of the
Amssha Spantas, for the promotion of the opulent, glorious star Tish-
trya, for the promotion of the righteous man, for the promotion of all
the righteous creations of Spanta Mainyu.

3. Mithra
Next to Ahura Mazda, Mithra is the greatest god of the old Iranian pan-
theon. The opening stanza of his Yasht states that Ahura Mazda created
Mithra equal to himself in respect to his worship. It is a Zoroastrian
device to legitimize the worship of a god who, to judge by the richness of
his Yasht, must have been the equal of Ahura Mazda in non-
Zarathushtrian circles. The absence of Mithra from the Gathas, con-
trasted with his prominence in the Younger Avesta, led some scholars,
H. S. Nyberg18 and his students, to espouse the belief that Eastern Iran
had been the scene of lively sectarian struggles between "communities"
of people who were devoted to either Mithra or Ahura Mazda or perhaps
to other deities as well. In the previous selection I noted the exclusivity of
Mazda worship on the part of Darius and Xerxes and the later inclusion of
Mithra under Artaxerxes II and III. Despite the fact that Mazdaism seems
to have demanded a near monotheistic allegiance to Ahura Mazda, it is
hard to imagine that sectarianism was rampant among the generality of
"pagan" Iranians. Pan-Iranian sectarianism existed, rather, in the schism
between daewa and ahura worshippers (see Introduction, p. 13). If
one lets oneself be guided, in part, by the testimony of the Rgveda, one
shall not be surprised to find Mithra on equal footing with Ahura Mazda,
for, in the Rgveda, Mitra is the almost constant companion of Varuna,
whose affinity to Ahura Mazda has already been discussed. In fact, the
 56 I Mithra

two are so intimately related that they are rendered indistinguishable

when, as so frequently happens, they are invoked together as an indis-
soluble pair (dvandvd), mitrdvarund. In the Younger Avesta, Mithra also
enters into this dual (dvandva) relationship with other deities, such as
Ahura, Rashnu, and Thvorashtar. Mithra's connections with Vedic
deities and his relationships with Iranian deities will be discussed; for
now, one should simply observe that, for the Indo-Iranians and probably
the Indo-Europeans in general, divine supremacy was a shared honor.
The most basic point of departure for understanding the Indo-Iranian
god *Mitra- is the meaning of the name. In Indo-Iranian, the word *mitra-
had two meanings: (1) 'covenant, contract, treaty'; (2) 'friendship'.
Although meaning (2), I believe, can easily be derived from meaning (1),
H.-P. Schmidt has recently made a strong case for a basic meaning
'alliance', which, he feels, better explains the two.19 In Old Indian, mean-
ing (2) rapidly underwent a semantic shift to 'friend'; as a result, it was
once widely held—and is still held today among a small minority—that
Vedic Mitra was the 'Friend'. Because Vedic Mitra is constantly eclipsed
by Varuna, there is no internal evidence that might persuade one that
Mitra meant anything but the god Friend. When one takes cognizance of
the Iranian evidence, however, one cannot doubt that the Indo-Iranian
deity was indeed the god Covenant. It is probable that, by the end of the
Rgvedic period (c. 900 B.C.), meaning (1) had fallen into disuse, to be
replaced by meaing (2); yet the existence in the oldest strata of the
Mahabhdrata of the compounds mitradruh (Av mithra.drug) 'covenant-
breaking, treacherous', and mitradroha 'the breaking of a covenant'
show that the Indo-Aryans knew meaning (1). It is clear, then, that
Mithra's nature is rooted in an ethical concept, the sanctity of agreements
among people. Accordingly, his complex personality should be explained
with reference to this fundamental aspect.
I have already mentioned that, divorced from Varuna, Mitra is a some-
what pale figure in the Rgveda, having just one hymn solely his. His only
distinguishing trait is that "he puts people in their proper places"; that is
to say, by guaranteeing the inviolability of covenants, contracts, agree-
ments, treaties, and the like, he maintains lawful stability among people.
With Varuna he presides over Truth (rta), yet, unlike Varuna whose
concern is Truth in all its many facets, Mitra's function is singular. Both
he and Varuna are called rdjan. This word has unfortunately been trans-
lated when applied to Mitra and Varuna according to its secondary mean-
ing 'king' (cf. Lat rex, Olrish ri, Goth reiks), whereas emphasis should be
placed on the primary meaning 'judge'. In a manner analogous to the
ancient Israelite 'judge' who developed into a king, IE reg was primarily a
judge and only secondarily a king; or, to put it differently, the primary
 Mithra I 57

function of a king was to judge (see sect. 4). Although in the Avesta
Mithra's function as judge is implicit, this function being explicitly carried
out by Rashnu, in the Pahlavi literature his only function is chief judge of
the dead along with Rashnu and Sraosha. Thus it would seem that in the
Indo-Iranian conception of the divine order, which, one may suppose,
was at least paradigmatic for the human order, the god Covenant must act
in concert with another god whose role is that of judge in the broadest
sense. In India it was Varuna; in Iran, Rashnu.
The colorless picture drawn of Vedic Mitra stands in marked contrast
to that of Avestan Mithra. The latter is portrayed as a mighty warrior,
who, sallying forth to battle in his chariot laden with weapons, wields his
mace to smash the heads of covenant violators. In the Vedas, not only
Mitra, but Varuna, too, is amazingly deficient in martial qualities. Indeed,
the royal aspect of force resides in the great warrior god Indra (whose
name appears as a daewa in the Avesta). The contrast between him and
Varuna is nowhere better seen than in RV 4.42. What is striking is that
Vedic Indra and Avestan Mithra so closely resemble each other in martial
demeanor. Two general explanations of this have been given. One appeals
to changes in the pantheon as a result of the Zarathushtrian reform.
According to this view, when Indra was banished by Zarathushtra, a
serious ideological vacuum was created. To fill the vacuum, his martial
characteristics were simply transferred to an acceptable deity, Mithra. To
such reasoning it has been objected that, although Indra and Mithra do
resemble each other closely, there is no license to make Mithra heir to
Indra's confiscated property. Mithra's acquisition of martial traits can just
as well have arisen out of his need to be able to enforce his judgments. It
may be noted that both approaches assume that Mithra's warlike aspect is
secondary. In any case, I think it is wrong to see in Mithra a thinly
disguised Indra. It is safer to say that both gods exhibit ideals of the Aryan
warrior, which, in the Vedas, never attached themselves to Mitra, while
in the Avesta they appear as part of Mithra's makeup. A possible explana-
tion of the similarity between Mithra and Indra may reside in the god of
aggressive combat Warathraghna (see sect. 5).
Another aspect that Mithra shares with Indra, though far less promi-
nently, is his role in replenishing the earth's water supply. Although the
subject of hydrology is taken up in detail below (see sects. 9 and 12), one
must observe that neither Mithra nor Rgvedic Indra should be seen spe-
cifically as rain gods. They are both primarily concerned with the release
of river water, that is, with the seasonal melt of mountain snows and the
runoff of vernal mountain rains. Mithra's ability to fill the rivers and lakes
involves him in agriculture (st. 61) and by extension may explain his
ability to grant sons and noble offspring.
 58 I Mithra
Mithra's standing epithet is wouru.gaoyaoiti (lit. 'possessing wide pas-
ture land'). In the translation I have perpetuated the usual rendering,
'Mithra of wide pastures'. If the meaning of 'wide pastures' is not under-
stood, however, much idle speculation about Mithra's involvement in
cattle raising can result. As Benveniste showed, Av gaoyaoiti and Ved
gdvyuti designate not simply pasture land, but a secure domain under the
protection of a deity, "«« lieu d'asyl."20 In the Yasna Haptanghaiti (Y.
42.2) and in the Sraosha Yasht (Yt. 57.2), dual deities are worshipped
under the names of the Protector and the Artisan (payu thvorshtara).
Gershevitch21 has brilliantly proved that the Protector is Mithra, and that
the Artisan is Ahura Mazda's creative aspect, Spanta Mainyu. In Yt.
10.54 he is protector and guardian of all creatures. The designation 'pro-
tector' fits well his standing epithet, and together they offer sufficient
explanation for his concern for the well-being of house and home (sts. 4,
30, 38) and the prosperity of the material world (st. 103).
A final problem that must be addressed is Mithra as a solar deity. If the
Avesta contained the only information about Mithra that existed, the
problem would be insignificant. In Middle Persian, Parthian, and Sogdian,
however, and on Kushan coins, various reflexes of the Old Iranian name
mean 'sun'. In the Zoroastrian tradition, Av Hwaraxshaeta, Phi xwarshed
is the normal word for the sun. Why, then, if the Iranians had a perfectly
good word and deity for the sun, did they make the transfer to Mithra?
Gershevitch has argued that Avestan Mithra is associated especially with
the first light in the morning, an association which, in conjunction with
his need to patrol the earth incessantly in search of covenant breakers,
paved the way for his being associated completely with the diurnal course
of the sun and with the sun itself. Moreover, there are other factors that
may have contributed to his eventual identification with the sun. As over-
seer of covenants Mithra was concerned with good government, and in
such a capacity he is often responsible for a peculiar fiery power, called
xwarsnah 'glory, fortune' (see sect. 6), which accompanies legitimate
authority. Further, the sacred element over which covenential oaths were
sworn was, in Iran, fire. In Sasanid Iran, one of the sacred fires was the
burzen-mihr. The homology of fire and sun is ancient and universal, so
that Mithra's early connection with the former inevitably led to his asso-
ciation with the latter.
Although it lies beyond the scope of this anthology, I should point out
that not only did Mithra, like other Iranian gods, play several roles in
Manichaeism, but a derivative form of his cult also spread throughout the
Greco-Roman world, even as far as Great Britain, where it became the
religion of Mithras, which enjoyed its greatest prominence among the
Roman legions.
 Mithra I 59

Mithra (Mihr) Yasht (Yasht 10)

I
1. Ahura Mazda said to Zarathushtra the Spitamid: When I created
Mithra of wide pastures, I made him, O Spitamid, as worthy of worship
and praise as myself, Ahura Mazda.
2. The knave who is false to a treaty, O Spitamid, destroys the whole
country to the (same) extent as even one hundred kayadhas smiting the
righteous (man). Do not break a covenant, O Spitamid, neither (the
one) which you might conclude with a drugwant nor (one) with an
ashawan belonging to the Good Religion, for the contract applies to
both of you, to drugwant and to ashawan.
3. Mithra of wide pastures gives possession of swift horses to those who
are not false to a covenant. Fire (Atar), (the son) of Ahura Mazda, gives
the straightest path to those who are not false to a covenant. The good,
strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Righteous give noble progeny to
those who are not false to a covenant.
4. Because of his rayi and glory, I shall audibly worship Mithra of wide
pastures with libations. We worship Mithra of wide pastures, who be-
stows peaceful and comfortable dwellings on the Iranian countries.
5. May he come hither to us in order to help (us). May he come hither to
us for spaciousness. May he come hither to us to support (us). May he
come hither to us to (grant us) mercy. May he come hither to us to cure
(us of disease). May he come hither to us so that we are able to defeat
our enemies. May he come hither to us to (grant us) a good life. May he
come hither to us to grant us possession of Truth. (May) strong, un-
shakable, undeceivable Mithra of wide pastures, who is worthy of wor-
ship and praise, (come hither) for the sake of the whole material world.
6. With libations I shall worship the powerful god, strong Mithra,
strongest in the (world of) creatures; I shall pay homage to him with
praise and reverence; with libations I shall audibly worship him, Mithra
of wide pastures. We worship Mithra of wide pastures with haoma
(mixed) with milk . . . [Continue with Ny. 1.16 (p. 183)].
II
7. We worship Mithra of wide pastures, whose speech is correct, who is
eloquent (in verbal contests), who has a thousand ears, is well built, has
ten thousand eyes, is tall, has a wide outlook, is strong, sleepless,
(ever) waking,
8. whom the rulers descending upon the battlefield worship (as they
advance) against the bloodthirsty enemy armies, against those drawn
up in battle lines between the two warring countries.
 60 I Mithra

9. Whichever of the two (countries? rulers?) can worship him first, be-
lievingly, with understanding thought from a trusting mind—to that
one, Mithra of wide pastures turns; at the same time, the victorious
Winds (also turn to that one), at the same time Damoish Upamana
(turns).
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
Ill
10. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7];
11. whom the Warriors worship at (i.e., bending down close to) the
manes of (their) horses, requesting strength for their teams, health for
themselves, much watchfulness against enemies, the ability to retaliate
against foes, the ability to overcome unfriendly, hostile opponents at a
blow.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
IV
12. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7];
13. who is the first supernatural god to rise across the Kara (mountain
range), in front of the immortal swift-horsed sun, who is the first to seize
the beautiful mountain peaks adorned with gold; from there he, the
most mighty, surveys the whole land inhabited by Iranians,
14. where gallant rulers preside over many (offerings of) refreshments
(to the gods), where high mountains rich in pasture lands and water
provide fodder for cattle, where there exist deep lakes with wide ex-
panses of water, where wide irrigation waters rush with eddies toward
Parutian Ishkata, 2 2 Haraiwan Margu, 23 Sogdian Gawa, 24 and
Chorasmia.25
15. Strong Mithra surveys (the continents) Arazahi, Sawahl, Fradadhaf-
shu, Widadhafshu, Wouru.bargshtl, Wouru.jaroshtl, and that splendid
continent Xwaniratha, (the land of) village settlement and (of) healthy
village habitation;
16. (Mithra) the supernatural god who drives over (throughout?) all the
continents bestowing xwaranah, the supernatural god who drives over
(throughout?) all the continents bestowing power. He secures victori-
ousness for those who, instructed (in religious matters), knowing Truth,
worship him with libations.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
V
17. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who is deceived by no
one, neither by the head of the house (ruling over) the house, nor by the
village head (ruling over) the village, nor by the tribal head (ruling over)
the tribe, nor by the head of the country (ruling over) the country.
 Mithra I 61

18. If, indeed, the head of the house (ruling over) the house, or the
village head (ruling over) the village, or the tribal head (ruling over) the
tribe, or the head of the country (ruling over) the country is deceitful
toward him, Mithra, angered (at) having been treated with enmity,
(comes) forth (and) smashes the house and the village and the tribe and
the country, and the heads of the houses (ruling over) the houses, and
the village heads (ruling over) the villages, and the tribal heads (ruling
over) the tribes, and the heads of the countries (ruling over) the coun-
tries and the councils of premiers of the countries.
19. Mithra, angry (at) having been treated with enmity, will sally forth
from (?) that direction in which, of the (possible) directions, the breaker
of a covenant is least on guard in his mind.
20. Even the horses of the breakers of a covenant become loath to be
mounted; running they do not get away, being ridden they do not take
(their rider) forward, drawing (the chariot) they do not persevere (make
progress). Back flies the spear which the covenant-breaker throws, in
spite of (?) the evil spells which the covenant-breaker performs.
21. Even when his throw is a good one, even when he hits the body,
even then they (?) do not hurt him (the opponent) in spite of (?) the evil
spells which the covenant-breaker performs. The wind carries (away)
the spear which the covenant-breaker throws, in spite of (?) the evil
spells which the covenant-breaker performs.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
VI
22. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who (when) unde-
ceived removes a man from anxiety, removes (him) from danger.
23. May you, O Mithra, undeceived (by us), remove us from anxiety,
from anxieties. You induce fear for their own person(s) in men who are
false to a covenant in this manner: (when) angered you are able to
remove the power in their arms, the strength in their legs, the light of
their eyes, the hearing of their ears.
24. (An enemy) does not hit with blades (?) of well-sharpened spear(s) or
of far-flying arrow(s) him to whom Mithra comes with foreknowing
thought to help, (Mithra) who, strong, having ten thousand spies, unde-
ceivable, knows all.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
VII
25. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], the profound, powerful
Lord (Ahura), granting profit, eloquent (in verbal contests), pleased
with (hymns of) praise, lofty, very skillful, tanu.mathra, the strong-
armed warrior,
 62 I Mithra
26. the smasher of the daewas' heads, the especially evil punisher of
guilty men who are false to a covenant, the suppressor of witches, who
when not deceived leads the country to superior strength, who when
not deceived leads the country to superior valor,
27. who carries away the straightest (paths) of the defiant country,
obscures (its) xwarsnah, removes (its) victoriousness; he harries them
defenseless; he, strong, all-knowing, undeceivable, having ten
thousand spies, deals out ten thousand blows.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
VIII
28. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who makes firm the
pillars of the high-built house, (who) makes strong the gateposts.
Then he gives herds of cattle and teams of men to the house in which
he is propitiated; he destroys the others in which he is treated with
enmity.
29. You, O Mithra, are evil and best toward the countries. You, O
Mithra, are evil and best toward men. You, O Mithra, rule over the
peace and strife of the countries.
30. You provide the great houses with bustling women (and) fast char-
iots, with spread-out rugs (and) laid-down piles of cushions. You pro-
vide with spread-out rugs (and) laid-down piles of cushions the high-
built house of the righteous (man) who, bearing libations, worships you
at the proper time with words, with worship in which (your) name is
mentioned.
31. O strong Mithra, I shall worship you at the proper time with words,
with worship in which (your) name is mentioned, with libations. O
strongest Mithra, I shall worship you at the proper time with words,
with worship in which (your) name is mentioned, with libations. O
undeceivable Mithra, I shall worship you at the proper time with words,
with worship in which (your) name is mentioned, with libations.
32. O Mithra, may you listen to our worship; O Mithra, may you be
satisfied with our worship, may you sit at our worship. Come to our
libations, come to them (which) have been offered, collect them for
consumption, deposit them in Paradise.
33. O strong (Mithra), by an agreement of given promises give us this
boon which we ask of you: wealth, strength and victoriousness, well-
being and possession of Truth, good reputation and peace of soul,
intelligence, increment and knowledge, and Ahura-created Victorious-
ness, and Best Truth's conquering superiority, and the ability to inter-
pret the Spsnta Mathra,
 Mithra I 63

34. so that we, being in good spirits, cheerful, joyful, optimistic, may
conquer all opponents; so that we, being in good spirits, cheerful, joy-
ful, optimistic, may conquer all enemies; so that we, being in good
spirits, cheerful, joyful, optimistic, may conquer. . . . May we over-
come all the hostilities of daewas and men, of sorcerers and witches, of
tyrants, kawis and karapans
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
IX
35. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], the avenger of (un-
paid) debts, the levier of armies, whose perception is thousandfold (and
who) rules as an all-knowing ruler;
36. who sets the battle in motion, who takes his stand in battle, who,
taking his stand in battle, smashes the battle lines. All the flanks of the
battle-tossed lines are in confusion, the center of the bloodthirsty army
is quaking.
37. He will be able to bring upon them terror and fear. He hurls away the
heads of the men false to the covenant; off fly the heads of the men false
to the covenant.
38. He destroys the crumbling dwellings, the uninhabitable abodes, in
which dwell the drugwants false to the covenant who smite the truly
righteous (men).
The Cow, accustomed to pastures, [who is in the clutches of men
false to the covenant], pulls (their wagon) along the dusty road of
captivity, dragged forward as their draft animal. Tears are flowing in a
stream along (her) face.
39. Even their eagle-feathered arrows, propelled by the bowstring,
flying from a well-drawn bow, strike no wounds, since Mithra of wide
pastures, angered (at) having been treated with enmity, is hostile (at)
not having been acknowledged.
Even their pointed, well-sharpened spears with long shafts, flying
from (their) arms, strike no wounds, since Mithra of wide pastures,
angered (at) having been treated with enmity, is hostile (at) not having
been acknowledged.
Even their sling stones, flying from (their) arms, strike no wounds,
since Mithra of wide pastures, angered (at) having been treated with
enmity, is hostile (at) not having been acknowledged.
40. Even their well-drawn daggers, which have been brought down upon
the heads of men, strike no wounds, since Mithra of wide pastures,
angered (at) having been treated with enmity, is hostile (at) not having
been acknowledged.
 64 I Mithra

Even their well-wielded maces, which have been brought down on

the heads of men, strike no wounds, since Mithra of wide pastures,
angered (at) having been treated with enmity, is hostile (at) not having
been acknowledged.
41. Mithra frightens (them) hither, Rashnu frightens (them) back,
Sraosha the companion of Ashi chases (them) together from all direc-
tions toward their protective gods. (But) these desert the battle lines,
since Mithra of wide pastures, angered (at) having been treated with
enmity, is hostile (at) not having been acknowledged.
42. Thus they say to Mithra of wide pastures: Alack! Mithra of wide
pastures! These swift horses are taking us before (you,) Mithra; these
strong-armed ones, O Mithra, are destroying us with (their) dagger(s).
43. Thereupon Mithra of wide pastures knocks them down with one
hundred blows for (every) fifty blows, and with one thousand blows for
(evrey) hundred blows, and with ten thousand blows for (every)
thousand blows, and with countless blows for (every) ten thousand
blows, since Mithra of wide pastures is angered (at) having been treated
with enmity.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
X
44. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], whose abode broad as
the earth is set in the material world, unrestricted in size, shining,
reaching widely abroad,
45. who has eight servants. On every height, in every watch post sit
Mithra's spies, espying (him who is) false to a covenant; they are
watching those, they are remembering those who are the first to be false
to a covenant, and they are guarding the paths of those whom the
drugwants, who are false to the covenant and smite the truly righteous
(men), seek.
46. Helping, protecting, protecting behind, protecting in front, Mithra of
wide pastures, as an undeceivable spy watching all around, comes forth
for him for whom Mithra comes with understanding thought to help,
(Mithra) who has ten thousand spies, (who) is strong, all-knowing,
undeceivable.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XI
47. We worship Mithra of wide pastures . . . [continue with st. 7],
notorious in his anger. (His) broad-hooved (horses) drive against the
bloodthirsty enemy armies, against those drawn up in battle lines be-
tween the two warring countries.
 Mithra I 65

48. Then, when Mithra drives forth against the bloodthirsty enemy
armies, against those drawn up in battle lines between the two warring
countries, then he ties the hands of the men false to the covenant
behind (their backs), he clouds their vision, he deafens their ears. He
(the man false to the covenant) cannot stand firm, he has no endurance
[these countries, these opponents] since Mithra of wide pastures has
been treated badly.
XII
49. We worship Mithra . . . [repeat st. 7],
50. for whom he who is the creator, Ahura Mazda, fashioned a dwelling
on top of shining lofty Kara which has many spurs, where there is no
night nor darkness, no cold nor hot wind, no illness causing much
death, no defilement caused by the daewas; nor do mists issue forth
from lofty HaraitI;
51. which (dwelling) all the Beneficent Immortals built in harmony with
the sun, believingly, with understanding thought from a trusting mind,
(for him) who surveys the entire material world from lofty HaraitI.
52. Then when the evil-doing treacherous person sallies forth with a fast
step, Mithra of wide pastures harnesses (his) fast chariot, (as does) both
strong Sraosha the companion of Ashi and charming Nairyo.sangha.
(Mithra) slays him (so that he is) slain either in the battle line or on the
attack.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XIII
53. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who regularly com-
plains to Ahura Mazda with outstretched hands, saying:
54. I am the beneficent protector of all creatures, I am the beneficent
guardian of all creatures, yet men do not worship me with worship in
which (my) name is mentioned, as other gods are worshipped with
worship in which (their) names are mentioned.
55. If, indeed, men would worship me with worship in which (my) name
is mentioned, as other gods are worshipped with worship in which
(their) names are mentioned, I would go forth to the truthful men for the
duration of a definite period, (for the duration) of a definite (period) of
my own radiant immortal life I would go unto (truthful men).
56. The righteous (man) bearing libations worships you at the proper
time with words, with worship in which (your) name is mentioned. O
strong Mithra, I shall worship you . . . [Continue with st. 31.]
57-59. [Repeat sts. 32-34.]
 66 I Mithra

XIV
60. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], whose reputation is
good, whose (physical) appearance is good, whose renown is good,
who grants boons according to his pleasure, who grants asylum accord-
ing to his pleasure . . . (?), who, strong, having ten thousand spies,
undeceivable, knows all.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XV
61. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], (who, as) a spy,
stands erect, watchful, brave, eloquent, who fills the waters, who lis-
tens to the call (of men), who lets the water fall, who allows the plants
to grow, who has jurisdiction over boundaries, is eloquent, clever,
undeceivable, who has manifold perception, who was created by the
Creator,
62. who gives neither power nor strength to any man false to a covenant,
who gives neither fortune (xwarsnah) nor reward to any man false to a
covenant.
63. (When) enraged you are able to remove the power in their arms . . .
[continue with sts. 23-24.]
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XVI
64. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], in whose soul . . .
[obscure],
65. who is swift among the swift, loyal among the loyal, brave among
the brave, eloquent among the eloquent; who grants . . . ( ? ) . . . ,
fat, herds, dominion, sons, life, well-being, (and) possession of Truth,
66. who is accompanied by good Ashi, and Parandi (driving) a swift
chariot and strong manly Valor and the strong Kawyan Xwaranah and
the strong autonymous Firmament and the strong Damoish Upamana
and the strong Frawashis of the Righteous and him who is the Unifier
(?) of the many righteous (men) who worship Mazda.
XVII
67. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who drives forth in
(his) high-wheeled chariot, built by (Spsnta) Mainyu, from the conti-
nent of Arazahi to the shining continent Xwaniratha, accompanied by
timely Energy (?), and by the Mazda-created Xwaranah, and by the
Ahura-created Victoriousness,
68. whose chariot good, tall Ashi guides; for whose (chariot) the Maz-
dean Religion prepared the paths for easy travel, which (chariot) is
 Mithra I 67

pulled by supernatural, white, radiant, shining (?), wise, shadowless

steeds which issue forth from the supernatural realm whenever
Damoish Upamana gets it off to a good start, (and) which all the super-
natural daewas as well as the concupiscent drugwants fear, (crying
out):
69. May we not here encounter the bludgeoning of the enraged Lord
(Ahura) whose thousand blows encounter (his) enemy, he who, strong,
having ten thousand spies, undeceivable, knows all.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XVIII
70. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], in front of whom
Ahura-created Warathraghna drives in the form of a ferocious wild boar
with sharp teeth, with sharp tusks, a boar that kills at one blow, un-
approachable (when) angered, whose face (bristles) are speckled, swift,
having metal hind feet, metal forefeet, metal tendons, a metal tail (and)
metal jaws;
71. who, overtaking (his) opponent(s), overcome by passion together
with manly valor, strikes down (his) opponents with a toss (of his head).
He does not think that he has struck anyone; it does not seem (to him)
that he is striking anyone, until he smashes the vertebrae, which are the
pillars of life, the spring of vitality.
72. who cuts everything up; all at once he mixes together on the ground
the bones, hair, brains, and blood of the men who are false to a cove-
nant.
XIX
73. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who regularly, with
outstretched hand, joyfully raises (his) voice, saying: Righteous Ahura
Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the material world!
74. [Repeat st. 55.]
75. May we be guardians of your dwelling places; (but) may we not be
deserters of the dwelling places, neither of the house, nor of the settle-
ment, nor of the tribe, nor of the country; nor (may we be deserters of
that) of ours which strong-armed (Mithra) shall guard from the enemies.
76. You destroy the enmities of the enemies, (you destroy the enmities)
of the inimical.
Destroy the slayers of the righteous! You have good horses and a
good charioteer; you are the strong helper when invoked.
77. I shall invoke you for help (May he come to us for help) with an
abundant sacrifice and a good sacrifice of libations, with an abundant
offering and a good offering of libations, so that through you we may
 68 I Mithra
inhabit with a long (period of) habitation a welcome habitat fit to in-
habit.
78. You protect those countries which strive to treat Mithra of wide
pastures well. You destroy those (countries) which are defiant.
I shall invoke you for help.
May he come to us for help, powerful, unshakable Mithra, the in-
sightful Lord of the countries who is worthy of worship and praise.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XX
79. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who, as ajudge, gives
a dwelling place (to him) for whom Rashnu has furnished a . . . (?) for
long succession (of descendants).
80. You are the protector of the dwelling place, the defender of those
who reject the Lie; you are the protector of the community, the guar-
dian of those who reject the Lie. Through you (that community), in-
deed, obtains the best succession (of descendants) and Ahura-created
Victoriousness, in which men false to the covenant lie (defeated), hav-
ing been smitten previously at the divinatory trial.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXI
81. [Repeat st. 79.]
82. who has one thousand perceptions. Ahura Mazda gave (him) ten
thousand eyes so that he might look out. Thus, with these eyes and
these perceptions, he espies the covenant-breaker and the one false to
the covenant. Thus, with these eyes and these perceptions, Mithra is
undeceivable, (he) who, strong, having ten thousand spies, undeceiv-
able, knows all.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXII
83. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], whom the leader of
the community regularly invokes with outstretched hands for help,
84. whom the village head regularly invokes with outstretched hands for
help, whom the head of the house regularly invokes with outstretched
hands for help, whom she—who, afflicted by the (pain) of her swelling
(udder), longs for her milkmaid—regularly invokes with outstretched
hands for help, whom the pauper, who follows the doctrine of Truth
(but) is deprived of his rights, regularly also invokes with outstretched
hands for help;
85. whose lamenting voice reaches up to the Lights (of heaven), (who)
 Mithra I 69

goes all around this earth (and) extends out into the seven continents,
(as) also when he raises his voice reverently, (and) also when the Cow,
86. (she) who, being led away captive, with outstretched hands, yearn-
ing for the herd, regularly invokes (Mithra) for help, (thus), "When
will Mithra of wide pastures, the hero, driving from behind, make us
reach the herd, when will he turn us who are being driven to the abode
of the Lie, to the path of Truth?"
87. Then Mithra of wide pastures comes to help him by whom he has
been propitiated; but Mithra of wide pastures destroys the house, vil-
lage, clan, country and empire of him by whom he has been treated with
enmity.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXIII
88. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], whom Haoma, rich in
rays, curative, beautiful, majestic, yellow-eyed, worshipped on the
highest peak of lofty HaraitI [which (peak) is called Hukairya by name];
the untainted (Haoma worshipped) the untainted (Mithra) with un-
tainted barasman, with an untainted libation, with untainted
words;
89. (Haoma) whom righteous Ahura Mazda installed as the promptly
sacrificing, loud-chanting zaotar. The promptly sacrificing, loud-
chanting zaotar performs the worship with a loud voice, as Ahura Maz-
da's zaotar, as the Amasha Spantas' zaotar. (His) voice reaches up to
the (heavenly) Lights, goes all around this earth (and) will extend out
into all the seven continents,
90. (Haoma) who, as the first hdwanan, placed the star-spangled, super-
naturally fashioned haoma (plants) on lofty HaraitI; whose (?) well-built
body Ahura Mazda glorified, the Amssha Spantas glorified; whom,
from afar, the swift-horsed Sun causes to perceive reverence.
91. Reverence to Mithra of wide pastures, who has a thousand ears, ten
thousand eyes! You are worthy of worship (and) praise! May you (al-
ways) be worthy of worship (and) praise! Hail to the man who regularly
will worship you, (he who has) kindling wood in his hand, barasman in
his hand, milk in his hand, pestle and mortar in his hand, with washed
hands, with washed pestle and mortar, with the barasman spread out,
with haoma (plants) elevated, with the Ahuna wairya being recited!
92. Righteous Ahura Mazda confessed this religion (daena), as did
Wohu Manah, as did Asha Wahishta, as did Xshathra Wairya, as did
Spsnta Armaiti, as did Haurwatat and Amarstat; out of desire for it the
Amssha Spsntas professed it, beneficent Mazda gave it jurisdiction
 70 I Mithra
over living beings—(the Amssha Spantas and Ahura Mazda) who con-
sider you the ahu and ratu in the (world of) creatures, (who) purify the
Best (Religion) for the creatures.
93. Now then, in both lives, in both our lives, O Mithra of wide pas-
tures, the material existence and that which is spiritual protect us from
the drugwant Death, from the drugwant Wrath, from the drugwant
armies who raise the bloody banner, from the deceptions of Wrath,
which treacherous Wrath perpetrates with daewa-created
(Asto.)Widhatu.
94. Now then, you, O Mithra of wide pastures, give strength to our
teams, health to ourselves, much watchfulness against enemies, the
ability to retaliate against foes, the ability to overcome unfriendly,
hostile opponents at a blow.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXIV
95. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who, broad as the
earth, goes along after sunset, (who) sweeps both edges of this broad,
round earth whose limits are far apart; (who) surveys all that which is
between earth and heaven,
96. (who) grasps in both hands the mace with a hundred knobs, with a
hundred blades, a feller of men as it swings forward, cast in strong
golden bronze, the strongest of weapons, the most victorious of
weapons,
97. of which the very deadly Angra Mainyu is terrified, of which
treacherous Wrath, whose body is forfeited, is terrified, of which long-
handed Bushyasta is terrified, of which all the supernatural daewas and
also the concupiscent drugwants are terrified.
98. (They all say:) May we not encounter the bludgeoning of the enraged
Mithra of wide pastures; may you, enraged, not slay us, O Mithra of
wide pastures!
(We worship Mithra), the mightiest of gods, the bravest of gods, the
fastest of gods, the swiftest of gods, the most victorious of gods. Mithra
of wide pastures comes forth on this earth.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXV
99. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], of whom all the super-
natural daewas and also the concupiscent drugwants are terrified.
Mithra of wide pastures, lord of the countries, drives along the south-
ern edge of this broad, round earth whose limits are far apart.
100. On his right side drives good Sraosha the companion of Ashi; on his
 Mithra I 71

left side drives tall Rashnu, the powerful; on all sides of him drive the
waters and the plants and the Frawashis of the Righteous.
101. He is able to keep them supplied with eagle-feathered arrows.
Then, when driving, he arrives there where the countries are hostile to
Mithra; it is he who first strikes his club down on horse and man; at
once he completely frightens both of them, horse and man.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXVI
102. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], who has white
horses (and) spears with sharp points and long shafts, the far-shooting
archer, the warrior manifesting his youthful strength,
103. whom Ahura Mazda appointed as guardian and supervisor over the
prosperity of the whole world; who, as guardian and supervisor over
the prosperity of the whole world, who, without falling asleep, watch-
fully, protects Mazda's creatures, who, without falling asleep, watch-
fully, guards Mazda's creatures.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXVII
104. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], whose very long
arms reach out to catch those who speak falsely. Even if (he who
speaks falsely) is at the eastern river, he is caught. Even if he is at the
western (river), he is struck down. Whether at the source of the Rangha
or in the middle of this earth,
105. Mithra lays hold even of him, reaching around (him) with both
arms. The ill-fated (person), having strayed from the straightest (path),
is unhappy in spirit. "So," thinks the ill-fated (person), "guileless (?)
Mithra does not see all this evil-doing, not all (of it which is) for the sake
of deception."
106. But I think in (my) mind: No man in existence on earth (can) think
evil thoughts to as great an extent as supernatural Mithra thinks good
thoughts; no man in existence on earth (can) speak evil words to as
great an extent as supernatural Mithra speaks good words; no man in
existence on earth (can) commit evil deeds to as great an extent as
Mithra performs good deeds.
107. No man in existence on earth is endowed with greater natural
intelligence than the natural intelligence with which supernatural
Mithra is endowed; no man in existence on earth (can) hear with his
ears as much as supernatural Mithra, who has listening ears (and) a
thousand perceptions. He sees all those who lie. Powerful Mithra
 72 / Mithra

comes forth, strong in dominion he drives, with a beautiful far-shining

glance he looks (around) with his eyes, (saying):
108. Who will worship me? Who will deceive (me)? Who thinks that I
am to be worshipped with good worship, who with bad worship? To
whom shall I be able to allot insight and xwaranah, to whom bodily
health? To whom shall I be able to allot property that affords much
comfort? For whom shall I raise noble progeny hereafter?
109. To what (man whose) mind is not thinking (about it), shall I give a
powerful realm, beautifully strong with a numerous army . . .
[obscure].
110. To whom shall I be able to allot sickness and death, to whom
poverty that brings misery? Whose noble progeny shall I slay with one
blow?
111. From what (man whose) mind is not thinking (about it) shall I carry
away (his) powerful realm beautifully strong with a numerous army
. . . [obscure].
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXVIII
112. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], whose spear (?) is of
silver, whose armor (?) is of gold, driving with whip, the powerful,
swift, broad-shouldered warrior. Brilliant are Mithra's courses as he
comes to that country where he is treated well. Wide are (their) valleys
for (protected) pasturage (so that) now their own cattle and men go
about freely.
113. Then may he come to help us. O exalted Mithra and Ahura, when
the whip cracks and the horses neigh, the whips lash, the bowstrings
twang (?) (and) the sharp arrows dart (?), then the evil sons of those
who have offered viscid libations, having been struck, will go down
writhing.
114. [Repeat st. 74.]
XXIX
115. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], 0 Mithra of wide
pastures, (you) the religious chief, the Nmany a, the Wisya, the Zantu-
ma, the Dahyuma, the Zarathushtrdtsma\
116. Twentyfold is the contract between two friends shouldering
(mutual) obligations, thirtyfold between two fellow citizens, fortyfold
between two partners, fiftyfold between husband and wife, sixtyfold
between two fellow students, seventyfold between disciple and
teacher, eightyfold between son-in-law and father-in-law, ninetyfold
between two brothers,
 Mithra I 73

117. one hundredfold between father and son, one thousandfold be-
tween two countries; ten thousandfold is the contract of the Mazdean
Religion: thereby follow days of strength, thus these will be (days) of
victory.
118. I shall come by the worship of the lowly (and) the exalted. Just as
yonder sun comes forth and drives on across high Kara, so, even I, O
Spitama, shall come by the worship of the lowly (and) the exalted to
spoil the mischief of lying Angra Mainyu.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXX
119. We worship Mithra of wide pastures . . . [continue with st. 7],
Worship Mithra, O Spitama; proclaim (him) to (your) disciples. May
the Mazdeans worship you with small and large cattle, with flying birds
[those which fly as winged (birds)].
120. [Obscure.]
121. Zarathushtra asked him: O Ahura Mazda, how should a righteous
man drink a purified libation, in order that Mithra of wide pastures,
whom he worships, may be propitiated, not treated with hostility?
122. Then Ahura Mazda said: Let them wash their bodies for three days
and three nights; let them undergo as expiation thirty lashes (of the
whip) for the worship and praise of Mithra of wide pastures. Let them
wash their bodies for two days and two nights; let them undergo as
expiation twenty lashes (of the whip) for the worship and praise of
Mithra of wide pastures. Let no one drink these libations who is not
versed in the Staota Yesnya (and) the Wispe Ratawo.
XXXI
123. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], whom Ahura Mazda
worshipped in the shining Paradise.
124. With outstretched arms for nondestruction, from shining Paradise,
Mithra of wide pastures drives forth his beautiful, all-adorned, fast-
driving smoothly running chariot.
125. Four immortal, all white horses, who live on spiritual food, pull this
chariot; the forehooves are shod with gold, the hind hooves with silver;
all are harnessed to the yoke, as well as to the yoke pin(s) and yoke
strap(s). (The yoke) is connected to a solid, well-made shaft by means
of a metal hook.
126. On his right side drives Rashnu, the most just, the most beneficent,
the tallest; and on his left drives righteous Razishta Cista, bearing
libations; [she wears white garments,] the likeness of the Mazdean
Religion.
 74 I Mithra
127. Brave Damoish Upamana drives along in the form of a ferocious
wild boar with sharp teeth, with sharp tusks; a boar that kills at one
blow; unapproachable (when) angered; whose face (bristles) are speck-
led; swift, dexterous, nimble; in front of him drives blazing Fire who is
the strong Kawyan Xwaronah.
128. There in the chariot of Mithra of wide pastures are a thousand
well-made bowstrings [that is, bowstrings made of deer sinew]. They fly
from the supernatural realm, they fall from the supernatural realm onto
the heads of the daewas.
129-131. (A repetitious list of the weapons in Mithra's chariot, namely,
one thousand arrows, spears, battle axes, daggers, and clubs.)
132. There in the chariot of Mithra of wide pastures is (his) beautiful,
easily wielded mace with a hundred knobs, with a hundred blades, a
feller of men as it swings forward, cast in strong golden bronze, the
strongest of weapons, the most victorious of weapons. It flies from the
supernatural realm, it falls from the supernatural realm onto the heads
of the daewas.
133. Thereupon, it (the mace) smashes (the heads) of the daewas; there-
upon, they (clubs, knives, etc.) smash down (on the heads) of the men
false to the covenant.
Mithra of wide pastures drives forth across Arazahl (and) Sawahl,
across Fradadhafshu (and) WIdadhafshu, across Wouru.barashtl (and)
Wouru-jarashti, across this splendid continent Xwaniratha.
134. The very deadly Angra Mainyu becomes truly terrified; treacher-
ous Wrath whose body is forfeited becomes truly terrified; long-handed
Bushyasta becomes truly terrified; all the supernatural daewas and also
the concupiscent drugwants become truly terrified.
135. [Repeat st. 98.]
XXXII
136. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], for whom white
coursers, yoked to his one-wheeled golden chariot, will pull . . . ( ? )
when he brings his libations to his abode.
137. Hail to the authoritative man—thus said Ahura Mazda—O right-
eous Zarathushtra, for whom a righteous zaotar . . . ( ? ) . . . learned,
who is tanu.mathra, shall worship with the litany of Mithra at the
spread-out barasman. Straightway, Mithra visits the authoritative
man's dwelling, if as a result of his (the man's) favor (shown to the
priest), it (the litany) is in accordance with the prescription for thinking.
138. Woe to the authoritative man—thus said Ahura Mazda—O right-
eous Zarathushtra, for whom a zaotar who is not a righteous man, not
 Mithra I 75

learned, not tanu.mathra, (shall) worship standing behind the barasman

and spreading the barssman fully, and offering a long hymn of worship.
139. He who is contemptuous of Mazda, contemptuous of the other
Amssha Spsntas, contemptuous of Mithra of wide pastures, contemp-
tuous of the Law and the Judge (Rashnu) and world-promoting, world-
increasing Justice, does not propitiate Ahura Mazda, nor the other
Amasha Spantas, nor Mithra of wide pastures.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXXIII
140. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7].
I shall worship Mithra, O Spitama, the good, brave, supernatural,
foremost, very merciful, unchangeable, whose home is on high, the
powerful, brave warrior.
141. Valiant, armed with a finely made weapon, wakeful in the dark-
ness, undeceivable—he is the most powerful of the most powerful, he is
the bravest of the bravest, he is the very smartest of the gods. Valiant,
attended by xwarsnah, he has a thousand ears, ten thousand eyes, he
who, strong, having ten thousand spies, undeceivable, knows all.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
XXXIV
142. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], the well-created,
greatest god, who in the morning (re)creates the many forms, the crea-
tures of Spanta Mainyu, as he illumines himself, like the Moon, with his
own light.
143. whose face blazes like (that) of the star Tishtrya; whose chariot, O
Spitama, the undeceiving (Ashi?) first guides as ... (?). (Mithra) who,
strong, having ten thousand spies, undeceivable, knows all.
[Repeat sts. 4-6.]
144. We worship Mithra . . . [continue with st. 7], we worship Mithra
who is in front of (?) the country, we worship Mithra who is inside the
country, we worship Mithra who is at the country, we worship Mithra
who is above the country, we worship Mithra who is around the coun-
try, we worship Mithra who is behind (?) the country.
145. We worship the exalted Righteous who (ensure) freedom from dan-
ger, Ahura and Mithra, as well as the Stars, the Moon, and the Sun. At
the barasman we worship Mithra, the Lord of all countries.
[Repeats sts. 4-6.]
 4. Rashnu
As with Mithra, so with Rashnu, the starting point for an understanding of
his nature is understanding the meaning of his name. It means 'judge' and
in its appellative sense is also applied once to Mithra (Yt. 10.79). The
name is derived from a verbal base raz- 'to direct, make straight, judge',
which also provides Rashnu's standing epithet razishta 'straightest, most
just'. The same verb in Indo-European, *reg, was highly productive,
yielding, for example, NHG Recht 'law' and Richter 'judge', and in Latin,
Celtic, and Old Indian the common word for 'king' (see below). As divine
Judge, he seems to have been particularly active in oaths and ordeals. The
Avestan word warah covers both meanings (cf. OInd sapatha). At a
trial, oaths affirming the veracity of testimony were essential, and, when
human criteria failed to establish the truth, divine criteria were employed
in the form of ordeals.
The one hymn dedicated to Rashnu must be counted among the more
recent of the Yashts. The language of the text is often corrupt and con-
fused. St. 8, for example, contains nine or ten words that are sheer gibber-
ish; the silly answer that is given in the initial stanzas to Zarathushtra's
question, as well as the formulaic repetition of sts. 9 to the end, point to
redactors who understood very little of the Avestan language and who
were able to accomplish little more than to pass along, often in garbled
form, bits of inherited lore pertaining to Rashnu. Although the Rashnu
Yasht is, as it stands, recent, it is only so in terms of redaction. There is
much in it that must go back to very old material. A curious aspect of the
first two stanzas of the Yasht is that they have nothing to do with Rashnu.
Now, one prominent feature of Zoroastrian eclecticism is the legitimizing
of non-Zarathushtrian texts by means of some artificial device, usually a
statement put in the mouth of Ahura Mazda (e.g., Yt. 10.1). In sts. 1 and 2
it would seem that Ahura Mazda has been substituted for Rashnu, as is
certainly the case in sts. 3 and 4, which are reworkings of sts. 5 and 6,
where Rashnu occurs in what must be the traditional invocation of the god
Judge to preside at an ordeal.
St. 3 informs us that the ordeal or the swearing of an oath (warah) was
to take place at noon. In keeping with Indo-Iranian ritual practice, a seat
of grass or twigs was provided for the divine guest called to the ceremony.
The fire, present at most Zoroastrian rituals, represents in this context
one of the elements (the other being water) over which oaths were solem-
nized. Among other expedients, hot oil was a favorite substance for
 Rashnu I 77

effecting the ordeal. In addition to the epithets discussed above, Rashnu's

other epithets befit the divine Judge who must needs be wise, decisive,
supportive of the law-abiding man's case, hard on criminals, and able to
observe, even from afar, the activities of men. This latter ability is
tediously exploited in sts. 9-37, in which all the important places, both
within this world and in the beyond, that Rashnu visits on his rounds, are
enumerated with the identical formula.
Fortunately, our knowledge of Rashnu is not confined to Yasht 12.
There are scattered, though important, references to him elsewhere in the
Avesta. He also appears in the Pahlavi books in a somewhat different
capacity. Finally, there exist references to him outside the Zoroastrian
tradition altogether. To begin with the latter, these references consist of
names. The Iranians, like many peoples, often chose personal names that
contained the name of a god. Among the Persepolis Fortification Tablets,
dated to the end of the reign of Darius I (c. 500 B.C.), at least two such
theophoric names appear bearing Rashnu's name: *Rashnuka,
*Rashnudata, and a dubious *Rashnubar. Since it is not likely that
Zoroastrianism had any effect on the nomenclature in Persis at this time,
the inclusion of Rashnu among the hundreds of names contained in the
tablets is conclusive proof in itself that Rashnu was a "pagan" pre-
Zoroastrian deity, a conclusion already drawn on the basis of the internal
evidence of his Yasht.
In later Zoroastrianism, Rashnu retains his role of judge, but he is
almost exclusively limited to judging the souls of the deceased. He shares
responsibility with Mihr (Mithra) and Srosh (Sraosha), assuming a rather
subordinate position as simply the weigher of the souls' good and evil
deeds. There are indications in the Denkard that, in lost Avestan texts
dealing with jurisprudence, Rashnu still retained his older and broader
role as judge. The evolution of Rashnu's role from that of judge in general
to judge of the dead belongs to a span of history more recent than the
Avesta and can be seen as a natural outgrowth of orthodox Zoroastrian
theology. Since there is no trace of the later role in the Avesta, it need not
concern us here.
As noted, the scope of the Rashnu Yasht is extremely narrow. When
stripped of the lines that do not pertain to Rashnu, the Yasht tells us little
more about the divine Judge than that he was invoked with various
epithets, with a given formula and ritual acts at the institution of an
ordeal, that at a trial (aratha) he was particularly severe with criminals,
and that his sphere of activity was universal. Surprisingly enough, nothing
is said about his close connection with Sraosha and, more importantly,
with Mithra.
The Mithra Yasht (Yasht 10) dramatically portrays Mithra driving in his
 78 I Rashnu

chariot with Rashnu now at his right (st. 126), now at his left (st. 100).
Quite apart from the naturalistic association of Mithra with the movement
of the sun, the purpose of Mithra's daily travels is to oversee the cove-
nants between men and the inflicting of punishment wherever covenant
infringements have taken place. Since treaties between peoples are
among the most important of covenants, Mithra's most convenient
method for punishing the treaty breakers is turning the tide of battle
against them. This is described in the ninth Kardah of the Yasht, in which
(in st. 41) Rashnu plays an active role. Here, and throughout the Zoroas-
trian tradition, Rashnu has always followed more or less in the shadow of
the greater god Mithra. In the Rashnu Yasht, however, the figure of
Rashnu gains a measure of independence, as he visits all the parts of the
universe, presumably alone. Whether he is alone or in the company of
Mithra, Rashnu's function is clearly the overseeing of justice. He both
perceives the doings of men and presides as supreme authority at their
adjudicatory processes.
In matters having to do with relations among men, it would seem that,
on the one hand, Mithra's proper jurisdiction was over the whole area of
formal covenantal or contractual relations, but not beyond; while, on the
other hand, Rashnu had jurisdiction over the more diverse area of crimi-
nal law. The distinction is best illustrated by contrasting statements insist-
ing that Mithra will destroy the person false to a covenant and that Rash-
nu will destroy the thief and bandit^ Although each function is distinct,
both contribute to the formation of a total legal structure. That Rashnu is
almost always in the company of Mithra is, then, explicable in terms of a
fundamental conception of the divine system of justice. Religio-historical
developments in Iran dictated that Mithra should eclipse his partner in
greatness. As one turns to the Indo-Aryans, one shall see the positions of
Mithra and Rashnu reversed.
Rashnu is one of the gods of the Iranian pantheon who has no obvious
counterpart in the Vedas. The only serious attempt to identify him with an
Indian deity was made by Dumezil, who attempted to prove his identity
with Visnu.26 The argument, founded on a false etymology for 'Visnu,'
has little to recommend it. My own opinion is that a strong case can be
made for a qualified identification with another Vedic deity, Varuna,
whose name has appeared already in the discussions of Ahura Mazda and
Mithra (sects. 2 and 3). The reader will have observed that, on the one
hand, Vedic Mitra is nearly always found in a dual (dvandvd) relationship
with Varuna and that, on the other hand, Avestan Mithra appears in the
dual compounds mithra-ahura and payu-thvorsshtara. He also appears in
such a relationship with Rashnu (Yt. 13.3; cf. Yt. 13.47 and the Parthian
proper name Rashnumitr). The Vedic counterparts of Ahura and
 Rashnu I 79

Thvorashtar are Asura and Tvastar respectively, and it will be clear that
the functional counterpart of Rashnu is Varuna, the divine judge (among
other aspects) of the Vedic pantheon, who is particularly conspicuous as
overseer of oaths and ordeals, as is Rashnu. Varuna is, of course, a vastly
more complex figure, and it would be foolish to attempt to see any further
resemblance between him and Rashnu than the one aspect put forth here.
One sees in the coupling of Mithra-Varuna and Mithra-Rashnu the reflec-
tion of the Indo-Iranian ideal of the divine legal structure as encompassing
two distinct yet interrelated functions. The contrast between the two
functions is inversely represented in Iran and India: in Iran, the aspect of
Covenant greatly overshadows that of Judge, whereas in India the aspect
of Judge assumes the dominant position.

Rashnu Yasht (Yasht 12)

1. Righteous (Zarathushtra) questioned him: O righteous Ahura Mazda!
I turn to you, O Ahura Mazda; I ask you about the rule of speech.
Speak to me (about this matter), O Wise One! You are undeceivable,
having undeceivable intelligence, undeceivable, all-knowing! What
(aspect) of the Mathra Spanta is the correct law? What, the law of
judicial procedure? What the decision? What solicitous? What won-
drous? What perceptive? . . . (?).
2. Then Ahura Mazda said: I shall, indeed, proclaim this to you, O
upright, righteous Spitamid. The Mathra Spsnta which has much
xwarsnah, that is (what is) of the Mathra Spsnta the correct law, the
law of judicial procedure, the decision, the solicitous, the wondrous,
the perceptive . . . (?).
3. Then Ahura Mazda said: You should strew a third of the barssman
about at midday (with the words), "We invoke, we propitiate" me, who
am Ahura Mazda. I call also the . . . ( ? ) to this instituted ordeal, to the
fire and the barssman, to the full, overflowing (bowl of water), to the
(boiling) ordeal-ghee and the vegetable oil.
4. Then I shall come to you, I who am Ahura Mazda, to this instituted
ordeal, to the fire and the barasman, to the full, overflowing (bowl of
water), to the (boiling) ordeal-ghee and the vegetable oil, at the same
time as the victorious Wind, at the same time as Damoish Upamana, at
the same time as the kawyan Xwaranah, at the same time as the Mazda-
created Profit.
5. We invoke, we propitiate Rashnu who is powerful. I call also the . . .
(?) to this instituted ordeal, to the fire and the barssman, to the full,
overflowing (bowl of water), to the (boiling) ordeal-ghee and the vege-
table oil.
 80 I Rashnu

6. Then lofty Rashnu who is powerful will come to help you, to this
instituted ordeal . . . [continue with st. 5].
7. O righteous Rashnu! O must just Rashnu! O most beneficent Rashnu!
O wisest Rashnu! O most decisive Rashnu! O Rashnu, you who know
best from afar! O Rashnu, you who see farthest in(to) die distance! O
Rashnu, you who best support the (accuser's) plaint! O Rashnu, you
who best smite down the thief!
8. (O Rashnu,) you who when not treated with enmity are the most
successful (?), who best smite, best destroy the thief and the bandit at
this trial . . . (?).
9. Also when you, righteous Rashnu, are at the continent Arazahi, we in-
voke, we propitiate Rashnu who is powerful. . . . [Continue with sts. 5-8.]

5. Warathraghna
It is immediately clear from the most cursory reading of Yasht 14 that
Warathraghna is a god of combat, of physical force. The name itself,
which means 'victory', stands in need of further elucidation in order that
one may achieve an understanding of the god's basic nature. 'Victory',
which is the translation given in the traditional Zoroastrian commentaries,
is an accurate yet colorless approximation. The name is a compound
consisting of a prior member wardthra and a final member ghna. The
element warathra means 'defense, resistance, obstruction'; ghna means
'the smashing, breaking, smiting'. Together they form a neuter noun
meaning 'the smashing of resistance', and in its appellative sense
warsthraghna is a common word in the Avesta. As a masculine proper
name, it designates the deity who represents the power to overcome all
obstructions. It must be remembered that the Indo-Iranians were aggres-
sive, life-affirming peoples, who abhorred anything that stood in the way
of expansion and productivity. On the cosmic level, this world view was
consciously articulated by the Vedic Aryans in the mythic complex of
Indra and the serpent of cosmic obstruction Vrtra (Av warathra). The
Aryan world view never received such extensive theological treatment in
Iran on the level of cosmogony. On the mundane level, however, it was
admirably expressed in the person of Wsrsthraghna, who epitomizes the
ideal of the Aryan warrior, fiercely aggressive in his ability to smash the
defenses of all who stand in his way. At a time when the seminomadic
Aryans were pressing into centers of established civilization from the
steppes, the god who smashes defenses must have been especially signifi-
cant. Ancient Iranian monarchies down through the Sasanids never lost
 Wsrsthraghna I 81
the ideal of global expansion (though this was limited in fact by practical
considerations), and, as a consequence, Wsrsthraghna retained a signifi-
cant place in the pantheon up to the advent of Islam. To summarize,
Wsrsthraghna stands for 'victory' through offensive warfare.
Before Benveniste's definitive work on Warathraghna, much of an
erroneous nature was written about this deity and its relation to Vedic
Indra. Guided by the mistaken assumption that Vedic myth represents a
stage earlier than the Iranian, scholars thought that Indra's epithet
vrtrahan meant originally 'slayer of (the serpent) Vrtra', and that the
absence of the dragon-slayer motif from Warathraghna's mythology
proved the degenerate state of the Iranian myth. Since Indra does occur in
the Avesta, banished as a daewa, one could assume that what remained of
the once glorious Indra had been divided among Mithra, who gained his
mace and martial traits, Warsthraghna, who perpetuated his epithet and
perhaps his ability to change form, and the hero Thraetaona, slayer of
Dahaka the snake (azhi-dahaka; cf. Ved ahi-vrtrd). Now matters are
seen to be quite the opposite. The mythological context of the Avesta
preserved what must approximate the original Indo-Iranian cast of char-
acters; the Veda contains the innovations. Thus, Wsrothraghna (who
actually has no counterpart *Vrtraghna in the Vedas, as the epithet
vrtrahan, Av warathrajan is an adjective applied to gods and men alike)
must be acknowledged as the original Indo-Iranian deity of war and vic-
tory through offensive breaking down of all enemy defenses.
The most conspicuous characteristic of Warsthraghna is his ability to
manifest himself in a variety of forms both anthropomorphic and ther-
iomorphic. The ten manifestations described in his Yasht call to mind
Puranic Visnu's ten avataras and Indra's general ability to change form.
In light of the fact that post-Vedic Visnu has borrowed heavily in certain
aspects from Vedic Indra, it may well be that the avatara concept ulti-
mately derives from Ilr *Wrtraghna. Be that as it may, the most promi-
nent avatara of Wsrathraghna was the boar, under which form the reader
has already seen him ferociously clearing the way in front of Mithra (Yt.
10.70). All the avataras have in common that they portray aggressive
force and virility.
Of note also is the first avatara, the Wind (Wayu or Wata). Though a
god in his own right (see sect. 7), he is frequently mentioned in the Avesta
as the Victorious Wind (Wata Warathrajan). In this aspect he is usually
accompanied by Conquering Superiority (Wanainti Uparatai) and a cu-
rious figure, Damoish Upamana, whom Gershevitch has explained as
Warsthraghna's alter ego.27 It is interesting to note that Wanainti,
a goddess, appears later on the coins of Huvishka as OANINAO in the
form of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.
 82 I Wdrathraghna

In accordance with his ability to bestow victory and consequently his

importance to those wielding power, Warsthraghna is closely connected
with xwarsnah (see sect. 6). He has the unique epithet baro-xwaranah-
'bearing xwaranah', which means, if one follows the Pahlavi gloss (Vend.
19.37), that he bore it as his battle standard, though the implication is that
he bestows the xwaranah upon the victor. In the myth of the flight of
xwarsnah after Yima's "fall" (Yt. 19.35, 36, 38), the xwarsnah flees in the
form of one of Warathraghna's avataras, the falcon (waraghna), first to
Mithra, then to the two heroes Thraetaona and Ksrssaspa. The associa-
tion of the falcon with Warsthraghna was deeply rooted in popular belief,
especially, one may surmise, among warriors, as is shown by the impor-
tance attached to falcon amulets.
Finally, it will be seen (sect. 12) that the water-bringing god Tishtrya,
the star Sirius, assumes three forms shared with Wsrothraghna: the bull,
the horse, and the young man.

Wdrsthraghna (Wahram) Yasht (Yasht 14)

I
1. We worship Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, righteous Creator of the material world, who among the spiritual
yazatas is best equipped? Then Ahura Mazda said: "Wsrgthraghna, O
Spitamid Zarathushtra."
2. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna came driving to him first in the form of
the bold, beautiful Mazda-created Wind. The good Mazda-created
xwaranah he bore, the Mazda-created xwarsnah, curativeness and
strength.
3. Then strongest (Warsthraghna said) to him: In strength I am the
strongest, in valor I am the most valorous, in xwaranah I am most in
possession of xwarsnah, in favor I am most bestowing of favor, in weal
I am most bestowing of weal, in curativeness I am most curative.
4. Then I shall overcome hostilities, the hostilities of all enemies, the
hostilities of daewas and men, sorcerers and witches, tyrants, kawis,
and karapans.
5. On account of his rayi and glory, I shall worship him with audible
worship, Ahura-created Warathraghna, with libations. We worship
Ahura-created Warsthraghna (with the words): yaish dataish paoiryaish
ahurahe (Y. 46.15), with haoma (mixed) with milk. . . . [Continue with
Ny. 1.16 (p. 183).]
 Wsrsthraghna I 83

II
6. [Repeat st. 1.]
7. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna came driving to him a second time in
the form of a beautiful golden-horned bull on whose horns was mounted
well-built, handsome Strength; thus Ahura-created Warathraghna
came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
Ill
8. [Repeat st. 1.]
9. Ahura-created Warathraghna came driving to him a third time in the
form of a beautiful white horse with yellow ears (and) a golden bridle,
on whose forehead was mounted well-built, handsome Strength; thus
Ahura-created Worathraghna came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
IV
10. [Repeat st. 1.]
11. Ahura-created Warsthraghna came driving to him a fourth time in
the form of a rutting camel, . . . (?), attacking (?), bellowing, tram-
pling, having woolly hair which clothes men,
12. who among ejaculating males has the greatest power and the greatest
passion, who goes (to mate) among the females [indeed, those females
are best protected which a rutting camel protects], (who) has strong,
forelegs, fat humps, nictitating (?) eyes, a clever head, is intelligent,
tall, (and) powerful,
13. whose (?) far-seeing (glance) shines forth . . . ( ? ) afar through the
dark night; who expectorates spittle back upon (his) whitish head; who
stays on his good knee(s), on his good leg(s), looking out like an all-
ruling ruler; thus he came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
V
14. [Repeat st. 1.]
15. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna came driving to him a fifth time in the
form of a ferocious wild boar with sharp teeth, with sharp tusks, a boar
that kills at one blow, unapproachable (when) angered, prepared for
battle, outflanking (the enemy): thus he came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
VI
16. [Repeat st. 1.]
17. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna came driving to him a sixth time in the
 84 I Wdrsthraghna
form of a regal fifteen-year-old man with clear eyes, with small heels,
handsome: thus he came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
VII
18. [Repeat st. 1.]
19. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna came driving to him a seventh time in
the form of a falcon, seizing from below (with his talons), crushing (?)
from above (with his beak), who is the fastest of birds, the swiftest of
those that fly forth.
20. He alone among living beings (can) overtake the flight of an arrow,
[either he only, or not at all,] even when it flies well shot; who at the
first gleam of dawn, pluming himself, flies; at evening seeking (his)
evening meal, in the predawn seeking (his) breakfast.
21. He grazes (with his wings) the . . . ( ? ) of the mountain tops, he
grazes the peaks of the mountains, he grazes the river valleys, he grazes
the treetops (?), listening for the call of the birds: thus he came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
VIII
22. [Repeat st. 1.]
23. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna came driving to him an eighth time in
the form of a beautiful wild ram with downward-curved horns: thus he
came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
IX
24. [Repeat st. 1.]
25. Ahura-created Warothraghna came driving to him a ninth time in the
form of a beautiful sharp-horned . . . ( ? ) goat: thus he came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
X
26. [Repeat st. 1.]
27. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna came driving to him a tenth time in the
form of a handsome, intelligent, Mazda-created hero. He carried a
gold-inlayed, adorned, fully decorated dagger: thus he came.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
XI
28. We worship Ahura-created Wsrathraghna who makes (men) virile
(?), who makes (men) strong, who is concerned with a good peace, who
provides good ways.
 Wsrsthraghna I 85

Righteous Zarathushtra worshipped him, Warsthraghna, for victory

in thought, for victory in speech, for victory in act, for victory in
declaratory speech, for victory in retort.
29. Ahura-created Wsrothraghna gave him the scrotum's well, the arm's
strength, health of the entire body, fatness of the entire body, and that
(power of) sight which the aquatic kara2S has who (can) distinguish a
hair-thin eddy of the far-shored, thousand-man-deep Rangha (river).
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
XII
30. [Repeat st. 28.]
31. Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna gave him . . . [continue with st. 29],
and that (power of) sight which a stallion has who, even on a dark night,
starless (?) and cloudy, (can) see a horsehair lying on the ground (and
tell) whether it is from the head or the tail.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
XIII
32. [Repeat st. 28.]
33. Ahura-created Warsthraghna gave him . . . [continue with st. 29],
and that (power of) sight which the zaranumani vulture29 has who, even
from a distance of eight villages, (can) perceive a piece of flesh the size
of a fist—even as large as the shimmer of a shimmering needle, even as
large as the point of a needle.
On account of his rayi . . .
XIV
34. We worship Ahura-created Warathraghna.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, righteous Creator of the material world! When I am much cursed
verbally (or) mentally by hostile men, what is the remedy?
35. Then Ahura Mazda said: Find yourself the feather of a falcon with
spread-out feathers, O Spitamid Zarathushtra. With the feather stroke
yourself, with the feather countercurse (your) opponent.
36. Whoever carries either a bone of the swift bird or a feather of the
swift bird—not even a clever man harms (him) nor drives (him) forth.
The feather of the bird of birds brings him much (?) respect, (the feath-
er) possessing much (?) xwaranah maintains support (for him).
37-40. [Obscure.]
XV
41. We worship Ahura-created Wsrathraghna.
May Warsthraghna surround this house which possesses xwaranah
 86 I Wdrathraghna
(?) with cattle pens (?), as the great eagle (broods on the nest), as the
water-laden clouds envelop (?) the great mountains.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
XVI
42. We worship Ahura-created Wsrsthraghna.
Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, righteous Creator of the material world, where is it that one
should invoke Ahura-created Warathraghna by name? where praise
(him)? where call (him) down?
43. Then Ahura Mazda said: When two armies should come together, O
Spitamid Zarathushtra, . . . (?),
44. you should arrange four feathers on the way. Whichever of the two
(armies) shall be first to worship (with the words), "O well-made, well-
built Strength, O Ahura-created Warsthraghna!", that one shall be
accompanied by victory.
45. I propitiate Strength and Warathraghna, the two protectors, the two
defenders, the two guardians. . . . [The remainder is obscure.]
46. O Zarathushtra, do not teach this spell to anyone other than a father
or a son or a blood brother or an athrawan student. And these (are)
words for you which are strong (and) firm, strong (and) eloquent, strong
(and) victorious, strong (and) curative; and these (are) words for you
which (can) save even a forfeited head, (can) repel even the arm already
unpraised (to strike) a blow.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
XVII
47. We worship Ahura-created Warsthraghna who ranges between the
two arrayed battle lines. Together with Mithra and Rashnu, he asks up
and down (the battle lines): Who is false to Mithra, who abandons
Rashnu? To whom shall I be able to apportion disease and death?
48. Then Ahura Mazda said: If men would worship (with the words), "O
Ahura-created Warathraghna!", . . . ( ? ) according to the Truth which
is best, there would be no enemy army directed here toward the Aryan
countries, nor famine, nor mange (?) nor . . . (?), nor a war chariot, nor
an upraised banner.
49. Zarathushtra responded to him: What, in fact, O Ahura Mazda, is
the most correct worship and praise of Ahura-created Warathraghna
according to the Truth which is best?
50. Then Ahura Mazda said: The Aryan peoples should offer up liba-
tions for him; the Aryan peoples should strew barasman for him; the
 Wsrsthraghna I 87
Aryan peoples should cook an animal, either a white one or a dark one
or whichever color (as long as it is) all of the same color.
51. Let not a knave partake of it, nor a whore, nor an Ashawan who
does not recite the Gathas, a destroyer of life opposed to this ahuric
Zoroastrian Religion.
52. If a rogue partakes of it, or a whore, or an Ashawan who does not
recite the Gathas, a destroyer of life opposed to this ahuric Zoroastrian
Religion, (then) Ahura-created Warathraghna goes away with his cura-
tive power.
53. Similarly, famines will come to the Aryan countries; similarly,
enemy armies will descend upon the Aryan countries; similarly, the
Aryan countries will be smitten with one hundred blows for (every) fifty
blows, . . . [Continue with Yt. 10.43 (p. 64).]
54. Then Ahura-created Warsthraghna spoke forth thus: O men, the
Soul of the cow created by the Creator is not to be worshipped or
praised if now the Wyambura daewas30 [daewa-worshipping men] are
either letting blood flow or sprinkling (it) forth;
55. if now the Wyambura daewas [daewa-worshipping men] bring to the
fire (some) of the plant which is called "juniper" by name (and) the fuel
which is called "felt" by name;
56. if now the Wyambura daewas [daewa-worshipping men] break (?)
(the ox's) back, . . . ( ? ) (its) midsection, stretch all the limbs out
straight; (—they seem to be slay ing (but) do not slay, [they seem to . . .
(?) (but) do not . . . (?)] if now the Wyambura daewas [daewa-
worshipping men] rip off (its) ears and gouge out (its) eyes.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
XXI
57-61. [Omitted.]
62. We worship Ahura-created Wsrathraghna, who destroys the battle
lines, who cuts the battle lines, who tramples the battle lines, who
throws the battle lines into confusion; Ahura-created Warathraghna
completely destroys the battle lines, he completely cuts the battle lines,
he completely tramples the battle lines, he completely throws into con-
fusion the battle lines of daewas and men, of sorcerers and witches, of
tyrants, kawis, and karapans.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
XXII
63. We worship Ahura-created Warathraghna.
Then, when Ahura-created Worsthraghna binds behind (their backs)
 88 I Wdrdthraghna

the hands of the oppressed battle lines, of the allied districts, of the men
false to the treaty, (when he) clouds (their) vision (and) deafens (their)
ears, he (the man false to the covenant) cannot stand firm, he has no
endurance.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5],

6. Xwaranah
I have discussed facets of the exercise of temporal power in several
contexts, for example, the political role of Ahuramazda in respect to the
Achaemenid kings and the importance of Warsthraghna as an Aryan
ideal. But no one religious concept is more central to Iranian notions of
the legitimate wielding of political authority than the concept of xwaranah
'glory'. The word is better known in its Median form *farnah. Although
the Achaemenid kings did not use it in their inscriptions, it gained curren-
cy throughout the Iranian world under their empires, as can be seen by
the popularity of the word in numerous proper names and in its occur-
rence as a loan word in such remote languages as Khotanese (pharrd),
Sogdian (prn), and Kushan-Bactrian (<£APPO). Whoever wished to rule
legitimately had to be graced by possession of xwaranah. This is amply
illustrated in Yasht 19, in which the xwarsnah either eludes evil rulers,
especially non-Iranians (e.g., Azhi Dahaka or Frangrasyan), or deserts
the Iranian ruler who has fallen into evil ways (Yima). When evil gained
the upper hand and sovereignty passed to non-Iranians, the xwaranah
would take refuge in the cosmic sea Wouru.kasha until such time as it
could again grace a legitimate ruler. In this sense, then, xwarenah was a
symbol of Iranian national unity. Often in the Avesta the xwarsnah is
called 'kawyan', i.e., 'belonging to the Kawis'. The Kawis were a partial-
ly legendary, partially historical dynasty of eastern Iranian rulers (see
Introduction, p. 18). Since the Avesta is an eastern Iranian document, it is
hardly surprising that it should glorify the regional dynasty. In Middle
Persian literature, the Kawyan Xwarsnah has become generalized and,
for example, it is used in reference to the first Sasanid Ardaxsher.
In its various meanings, xwaranah is not confined to the political con-
text alone, but has a much wider range of application. It can be a creative
power used by the gods or it can be a religious power employed by holy
men to gain victory over the forces of the Lie. But in its most general
application xwaranah embodies the concept of good fortune. Given such a
range of meaning, one might well ask what the original, etymological
meaning might be. Because the xwaranah was visualized as a kind of
 Xwardnah I 89

fiery radiance, many scholars would relate it to the word for 'sun' hwarl
xwar (OInd suvar), even though there are morphological problems con-
nected with such an etymology. Another possibility begins with 'good
fortune' as the basic meaning and posits a verb *xwar- 'to grasp, take';
thus the meaning will have been something like 'what one gets'. One can
also posit an Iranian verb hwar- 'to shine', corresponding to the poorly
attested OInd svar- 'to shine'. None of this is at all certain. In most
instances I have translated the word as 'glory', and otherwise, where the
context requires it, as 'fortune'.
An interesting and apparently ancient mythological motif is that of
Apam Napat's guardianship of xwarsnah (Yt. 19.51-52). Since Apam
Napat (Child of the Waters), the "lofty Ahura," is elsewhere said to
subjugate countries in revolt, his connection with xwarsnah can hardly be
fortuitous. In the Vedas there is an intimate connection, often bordering
on identity, between Apam Napat and Agni (Fire). This association of the
aquatic god with fire, or with a fiery substance guarded in a body of water,
is, as Dumezil has, I think, shown, Indo-European in origin, even if one
does not follow his trifunctional analysis of the rest of the xwarsnah
myth.31

Xwardnah (Zamydd) Yasht (Yasht 19)

I
1-8. (A list of mountains.)
9. We worship the strong Mazda-created kawyan Xwarsnah created by
Mazda, much praised, having superior skill, solicitous, having super-
natural power, perceptive . . . ( ? )
10. which belongs to Ahura Mazda, since it is Ahura Mazda who is wont
to create the creatures numerous and good, numerous and beautiful,
numerous and wonderful, numerous and marvelous, numerous and
radiant,
11. since (?) they shall make life marvelous (so that it may be) unaging,
undying, not decaying, not putrefying, ever living, ever prospering,
autonomous. When the departed shall rise up again (from the dead),
nondestruction shall come for the living. By the will (of Ahura Mazda)
(the Saoshyant) makes life marvelous.
12. The beings shall become undying who are under the command (?) of
Truth. The Lie shall retreat to wherever it was whence it came in order
to destroy the righteous man, him and (his) family and (his) being; and
the hussy will be terrified (?), and the scoundrel will be destroyed. . . .
(?)
13. On account of its rayi and glory, I shall worship it with audible
 90 I Xwarsnah

worship, the strong kawyan Xwaranah created by Mazda, with liba-

tions. We worship the strong kawyan Xwarenah with haoma (mixed)
with milk. . . . [Continue with Ny. 1.16 (p. 183).]
II
14. [Repeat st. 9.]
15-17. which belongs to the Amssha Spantas . . . [continue with Yt.
13.82-84 (p. 113)].
18. who are the Creators and the Fashioners and the Makers and the
Overseers and the Protectors and the Guardians of these creatures
which belong to Ahura Mazda.
19-20. It is even they who, by the will (of Ahura Mazda), make life
marvelous (so that it is) unaging. . . . [Continue with st. 11 from "un-
dying" to end of st. 12.]
Ill
21. [Repeat st. 9.]
22. which belongs to the supernatural and mundane gods, and to both
the born and the unborn, wonder-working Saoshyants.
23-24. [Repeat sts. 19-20.]
IV
25. [Repeat st. 9.]
26. which accompanied Haoshangha Paradhata for a very long time, so
that on the sevenfold earth he ruled over daewas and men, sorcerers
and witches, tyrants, kawis, and karapans, (he) who slew two-thirds of
the daewas from Mazandaran and the liars from Warsna.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].
V
27. [Repeat st. 9.]
28. which accompanied Taxma Urupi dressed in skins (?) so that on the
sevenfold earth he ruled over daewas and men, sorcerers and witches,
tyrants, kawis, and karapans;
29. so that he became victorious over all daewas and men, all sorcerers
and witches; so that for thirty years he rode around the limits of the
earth on Angra Mainyu transformed into the form of a horse.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].
VI
30. [Repeat st. 9.]
31. which accompanied regal Yima rich in herds, for a very long time, so
that on the sevenfold earth he ruled over daewas and men, sorcerers
and witches, tyrants, kawis, and karapans;
 Xwarsnah I 91

32. who (Yima) took from the daewas both goods and profit, both flocks
and herds, both contentment and renown, under whose rule . . . ( ? )
cattle and men did not die, water and vegetation did not dry up;
33. under whose rule there was neither cold nor heat, nor was there
either old age or death, nor daewa-created jealousy, before (when there
was?) nonfalsehood, (that is,) before he (?) introduced falsehood [un-
true speech] to his mind.
34. Then, when he (?) introduced falsehood [untrue speech] to his mind,
the Xwarsnah, visibly, in the form of a bird, went forth from him.
Seeing the Xwaranah rushing away, regal Yima rich in herds sadly
began to wander, and, given over to depression, he kept himself hidden
(?) on the earth.
35. First, the Xwaranah turned away from regal Yima, the Xwaranah
went from Yima the son of Wlwahwant in the form of a falcon. Mithra
of wide pastures, who has listening ears and a thousand perceptions,
took possession of the Xwaranah.
We worship Mithra, the ruler of all countries, whom Ahura Mazda
created possessing the most xwaranah of the supernatural gods.
36. When, a second time, the Xwaranah turned away from regal Yima,
(when) the Xwaranah went from Yima the son of Wlwahwant in the
form of a falcon, the prince Thraetaona of the mighty house of
Athvyanids, took possession of the Xwarsnah, since he was the most
victorious among victorious men other than Zarathushtra,
37. who (Thraetaona) slew Azhi Dahaka. . . . [Continue with Y. 9.8
(p. 152).]
38. When, a third time, the Xwarsnah turned away from regal Yima,
(when) the Xwaranah went from Yima the son of Wlwahwant in the
form of a falcon, manly-minded Karasaspa took possession of the
Xwaranah, since he was the most powerful among strong men, except
for Zarathushtra, because of (his) manly valor;
39. —Since it was strong Manly Valor who accompanied him, we
worship Manly Valor standing erect, unsleeping, resting in its place
awake, who accompanied Ksrasaspa—
40. who slew the horse-devouring, man-devouring, poisonous, yellow-
ish-horned Serpent, over whom (the Serpent) poison spurted up on its
tail, on its nose, on its back, to the height of a spear shaft, on whom
Ksrssaspa cooked food in a metal (pot) at noon time. The scoundrel
became hot. . . . [Continue with Y. 9.11 from " . . . and began to
sweat" (p. 153).]
41. Who slew yellow-heeled Gandarava who attacked open-mouthed,
 92 I Xwarznah

destroying the material world of Truth; who slew the nine sons of
Pathana and the sons of Niwika and the sons of Dashtayani; who slew
Hitaspa (wearing) a golden diadem and Warashawa Danayana and
Pitaona much given to witches;
42. who slew Arazoshamana endowed with manly valor, brave, rough
(?), clever, hobbling (?), watchful, who could not be overtaken (?),
raising a clamor ( ? ) . . . ;
43. who slew Snawidhka of the horned race, whose hands were of stone.
He boasted thus: I am a minor, not an adult. If I should become an
adult, I shall make earth my wheel, I shall make heaven my chariot.
44. I shall bring Spsnta Mainyu down from (his) shining heaven
(Garo.nmana), I shall have Angra Mainyu fly up from (his) awful (?)
Hell. They shall pull my chariot, both Spanta Mainyu and Angra
(Mainyu), if manly-minded Karssaspa does not slay me.
Manly-minded Karssaspa slew him. (He took) away the breath of
life, the ... (?) of (his) life-force.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].
VII
45. We worship the Mazda-created, unobtainable (?) Xwaranah. . . .
[Continue with st. 9.]
46. Spanta Mainyu and Angra (Mainyu) thereupon each sent forth
(their) fastest messengers after this unobtainable (?) (Xwarsnah) which
they both wanted (?). Spanta Mainyu sent forth as messenger(s) Wohu
Manah, Asha Wahishta, and Fire, the son of Ahura Mazda. Angra
Mainyu sent forth as messenger(s) Aka Manah and Aeshma with the
bloody cudgel and Azhi Dahaka and Spityura who cut Yima (in
two).
47. Thereupon Fire, (the son) of Ahura Mazda, raced straight away,
thinking thus to himself, "I shall get possession of this unobtainable (?)
Xwarsnah!" Then the three-headed Snake of evil religion ran forth
behind him uttering (this) taunt(?):
48. Ho! Mark this well, Fire, (son) of Ahura Mazda! If you get hold of
this unobtainable (?) (Xwarsnah), I shall completely drive you away.
Thereafter you will not flame up on the Ahura-created earth for the
protection of Truth's creatures.
Then Fire drew back his hands out of anticipated concern for his life,
since the Snake . . . (?)
49. Thereupon, the three-headed Snake of evil religion raced forth
thinking thus to himself, "I shall seize this unobtainable (?)
Xwarsnah." Then Fire, (the son) of Ahura Mazda raced straight away
behind him, speaking with these words:
 Xwarsnah I 93
50. Hold! Mark this well, Azhi Dahaka with (your) three heads! If you
get hold of this unobtainable (?) (Xwaronah), I shall shoot up (flames) at
(your) ass (and) light up your mouth. Thereafter, you will not venture
forth on the Ahura-created earth for the destruction of Truth's crea-
tures.
Then the Snake drew back his paws out of anticipated concern for his
life, since Fire . . . (?)
51. This Xwaranah reached (?) the Wouru.kasha sea. Immediately,
Apam Napat, whose horses are swift, took possession of it. And Apam
Napat, whose horses are swift, desires it, (saying): I shall keep this
Xwaranah at the bottom of the deep sea, at the bottom of the deep bays.
52. We worship the lofty Ahura, imperial, regal Apam Napat, whose
horses are swift, the hero who brings help when invoked; who created
man; who fashioned man, the aquatic god who is the best listener when
worshipped.
53. Now, some one of you men—said Ahura Mazda—O righteous
Zarathushtra, should seek the Xwaranah. . . . [The remainder of stan-
za is obscure.]
54. Ashi, bestowing much well-being, heaped up with good things,
strong in terms of cow(s) and pasture(s), will accompany him.
Victory, who every day (grants the ability to) strike down (the
enemy) in the attack, who (grants) a full life, will accompany him.
Then, accompanied by this Victory, he will defeat the bloodthirsty
(hostile) army; then, accompanied by this Victory, he will defeat all
enemies.
On account of its rayi. . . [continue with st. 13, with the substitution
of "unobtainable (?)" for "kawyan"].
VIII
55. [Repeat st. 45.]
56. which the Turian scoundrel Frangrasyan sought, (which was floating
in the middle) of the Wouru.kasha sea. Naked, he threw off his clothes.
Seeking that Xwaranah which belongs to the Aryan countries—to the
born and the unborn—and which belongs to righteous Zarathushtra, he
swam out toward the Xwarsnah. The Xwaranah raced away, the
Xwarsnah departed. From this there arose this outlet of the Wouru-
.kasha sea, the bay which is called "Haosrawah."
57. Then Frangrasyan the Tura, possessing much miraculous power, O
Spitamid Zarathushtra, rose up from the Wouru.kasha sea, uttering this
evil utterance: ithe itha yathna ahmdi. I did not embrace this Xwarsnah
which belongs to the Aryan countries—to the born and the unborn—
and which belongs to righteous Zarathushtra.
 94 I Xwardnah

58. I shall mix together both: all that is dried up and fluid . . . (?)
Ahura Mazda will get into difficulties creating the adverse (?) crea-
tures.
Then Frangrasyan the Tura, possessing much miraculous power, O
Spitamid Zarathushtra, descended upon the Wouru.kasha sea.
59. A second time, naked, he threw off his clothes. . . . [Continue with
st. 56 through " . . . departed."] From this there arose this outlet of the
Wouru.kasha sea, the bay which is called "Wanghazda."
60. Then Frangrasyan the Tura, possessing much miraculous power,
rose up from the Wouru.kasha sea, uttering this evil utterance: ithe itha
yathna ahmai, awaetha itha yathne kahmai. I did not embrace that
Xwaranah which belongs to the Aryan countries—to the born and the
unborn—and which belongs to the righteous Zarathushtra.
61. [Repeat st. 58.]
62. A third time he threw off his clothes. . . . [Continue with st. 56
through " . . . departed."] From this there arose this outlet of the
Wouru.kasha sea, the water which is called "Avzhdanwan."
63. Then Frangrasyan the Tura, possessing much miraculous power,
rose up from the Wouru.kasha sea, uttering this evil utterance: ithe itha
yathna ahmai, awathe itha yathna ahmai, awoya itha yathna ahmai. I
did not embrace that Xwarsnah which belongs to the Aryan countries—
to the born and the unborn—and which belongs to the righteous
Zarathushtra.
64. He did not embrace that Xwaranah which belongs to the Aryan
countries—to the born and the unborn—and which belongs to the right-
eous Zarathushtra.
On account of its rayi. . . [continue with st. 13, with the substitution
of "unobtainable (?)" for "kawyan"].
X
70. [Repeat st. 9.]
71. which accompanied Kawi Kawata and Kawi Aipi.wohu and Kawi
Usadhan and Kawi Arshan and Kawi Pisina and Kawi Byarshan and
Kawi Syawarshan,
72. so that they all became brave, all courageous, all solicitous, all filled
with wondrous power, all perceptive, all Kawis bold in action.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].
XI
73. [Repeat st. 9.]
74. which accompanied Haosrawah for well-shaped strength and for
 Xwarsnah I 95

Ahura-given victory and for conquering superiority and for well-

formulated commands and for unalterable commands and for irreversi-
ble commands and for immediate victory over opponents,
75. and for healthy strength and for Mazda-created xwarsnah and for
bodily health and for noble, good, able, eloquent, fair, clear-eyed prog-
eny who save (others) from trouble (and) have good intelligence, (and)
for future uncontested good knowledge of the Best Life,
76. and for radiant dominion and for longevity and for all boons and for
all cures, for the resistance of sorcerers and witches, tyrants, kawis,
and karapans, for the resistance of hostility done by evil rulers,
77. when (?) Kawi Haosrawah (competed with?) this Kgrasa (wazda)
[on the racecourse which is long, and we do not cut the turning post
when the scoundrel cunningly competes against him with his horses].
He became victorious over all. Kawi Haosrawah, the lord, bound the
Turian scoundrel Frangrasyan (and) Karasawazda, (Haosrawah) the
son and avenger of Syawarshan the treacherously slain man, and of
Aghraeratha the Narawid.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].
XII
78. [Repeat st. 9.]
79. which accompanied righteous Zarathushtra, (urging him) to think
according to the (true) Religion, to speak according to the (true) Reli-
gion, to act according to the (true) Religion, so that, of the entire
material world of being, he was the most righteous in terms of Truth,
most authoritative in terms of dominion, most insightful in terms of
insight, most glorious in terms of glory, most victorious in terms of
victory.
80. Before his time the daewas would move about visibly, visibly (their)
orgies would take place, visibly they would drag women away from
(their) men. Then the daewas would violate them crying and lamenting.
81. Then, alone, the Ahuna wairya, which righteous Zarathushtra re-
cited four times with (the proper) pauses and then in a loud recitation,
drove down all the daewas (so that they became) concealed in the earth,
unworthy of worship, unworthy of praise.
82. from (?) whom the Turian scoundrel Frangrasyan sought the
Xwarsnah over the seven continents. Around the seven continents
the scoundrel Frangrasyan stormed, seeking Zarathushtra's
Xwarsnah. The Xwaranah swam out toward the birds' . . . (?). Lo,
they two (who?) came back to me; they two came to the desire of (my)
 96 I Xwarznah

desire (?), as in any case it was according to the pleasant disposition of

me (?) Ahura Mazda and of the Mazdean Religion.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].
XIII
83. [Repeat st. 9.]
84. which accompanied Kawi Wishtaspa, (urging him) to think accord-
ing to the (true) Religion, to speak according to the (true) Religion, to
act according to the (true) Religion, so that he praised this Religion,
driving (?) the daewas away from the Righteous (?).
85-86. Who with bow and arrow sought . . . [continue with Yt. 13.99-
100 (p. 115)].
87. Brave Kawi Wishtaspa became victorious over Tathryawant, whose
religion is evil, and Psshana the daewa worshipper and the drugwant
Arajat.aspa as well as any other evil, blasphemous Huns.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].
XIV
88. [Repeat st. 9.]
89. which (will) accompany the victorious Saoshyant and the other com-
panions, so that he will make life marvelous . . . [continue with st. 11].
90. [Repeat sts. 12-13.]
XV
91. [Repeat st. 9.]
92. When Astwat.srata, the son of Wispa.taurwa, rises out of the water
Kasaoya as Ahura Mazda's messenger, wielding the victorious waedha
weapon32 which heroic Thraetaona carried when Azhi Dahaka was
slain,
93. which the Tura Frangrasyan carried when the drugwant Zainigu was
slain, which Kawi Haosrawah carried when the Tura Frangrasyan was
slain, which Kawi Wishtaspa carried while teaching the armies of
Truth—then (Astwat.orata) will banish the Lie from the world of Truth.
94. Seeing with the eyes of intelligence, he will view all creatures . . .
(?) of the hideous (Lie?). He will see the entire material world of exist-
ence with the eyes of zeal, and his gaze will render undying the entire
material world.
95. The companions of the victorious Astwat.srata will come forth hav-
ing good minds, good speech, good deeds, (and) good daenas, who also
do not speak falsehoods with their own tongues. Wrath with the bloody
cudgel, whose Xwaranah is evil, will flee before them. Through Truth,
(Astwat.9r9ta) will be victorious over the evil Lie who is hideous, who
is composed of darkness.
 Wdyu I 97

96. He will also be victorious over the Evil Spirit. The Good Spirit will
be victorious over it. He will be victorious over the falsely spoken
(word). The rightly spoken word will be victorious over it. He will
conquer health and immortality, both hunger and thirst. Health and
Immortality will conquer evil hunger and thirst. Angra Mainyu, the
doer of evil deeds, impotent, will flee.
On account of its rayi . . . [continue with st. 13].

7. Wayu
Indo-Iranian religion recognized two wind gods, Vata (Av Wata) and
Vayu (Av Wayu), who, because they are based on the same natural
phenomenon, are difficult to distinguish, even though significant differ-
ences do exist between them. The figure of the bold Wata is often seen in
the Avesta in the company of a number of other deities, notably Mithra,
Wsraraghna, Tishtrya, and Satawaesa. Outside Yasht 15, Wayu is scarce-
ly ever found.
In Avestan and in Iranian generally, wata (and its cognates) is the
common word for 'wind'. In the Avesta it is found both as an appellative
and as a proper name. Often it is difficult to decide whether a given text is
talking about the wind or the Wind, i.e., the divine being manifest in the
wind. In the case of wayu, the word is always the name of the god, never
an appellative. The linguistic situation seems to indicate that Wayu was to
a much greater degree detached from his elemental nature, while Wata
remained barely distinguishable from it. Comparisons with the corre-
sponding wind gods in the Vedas confirm the antiquity of the separateness
of the two gods. On the one hand, Vedic Vata is quite similar to Iranian
Wata; on the other hand, Vedic Vayu has very little in common with
Wayu, except that they are both powerful deities possessing many char-
acteristics suggested by the nature of wind itself.
The sphere of the wind's activity is, of course, the atmosphere (cf.
MPers andarwdy). According to the Iranian view of the cosmos, the earth
and the stone vault of heaven (asman 'stone') were separated by a void.
Since 'air' does not appear as one of the basic elements associated with
the Amasha Spsntas, this conclusion is warranted. Within this void
moves a mysterious something, invisible yet sensible, the wind. The mys-
teriousness of the wind is augmented by the fact that it is so unstable, so
ambivalent. It can be the gentle breeze that cools or the wind that bears
aloft the long-awaited rain clouds; yet it can be the terrible, violent wind
of storms and whirlwinds or the dread hot wind that parches all creation.
 98 I Wayu

The ambivalence of the wind detectable in the Avesta is elaborately ar-

ticulated in the Pahlavi literature as the two Winds: the Good Wind (way I
weh} and the Evil Wind (way ibadtar). In the Vendidad (5.8 [see p. 166]),
he follows after the demon of death Asto.Widhatu to take away the soul of
the dead, and elsewhere (Aogamadaeca 77) he is called "merciless'. His
Yasht portrays him in his beneficent albeit violent nature, as the swiftest
of gods, a wonderfully equipped, skillful warrior whom heroes worship
for success in battle.
Yasht 15 is actually dedicated to an insignificant deity Raman, whose
name means 'peace, repose'. The reason for such an association is
obscure. The Yasht itself is a late and rather chaotic work. Like the Ahura
Mazda Yasht (Yt. 1.7-8, 12-15 [pp. 52, 53]), it contains a section listing
epithets which, while they would be important for a detailed study of
Wayu, are better omitted here.

Wayu (Ram) Yasht (Yasht 15)

I
1. I shall worship the god of the waters (?). I shall worship either one,
both victorious Peace and Profit (?). We worship Wayu also; we invoke
Wayu also, for this house and for this head of the house and for this
pious person bearing libations . . . (?), we worship the best god.
2. Ahura Mazda, the Creator, worshipped him in the Aryan territory of
the good Daitya (river), on a golden throne, on a golden carpet, on a
golden rug, on the spread barosman, with hands overflowing (with liba-
tions).
3. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that I might slay the creatures of Angra Mainyu, but not that
which belongs to Spanta (Mainyu).
4. Wayu who has superior skill gave him that boon so that it (?) accom-
panied the Creator, Ahura Mazda.
5. We worship righteous Wayu. We worship Wayu who has superior
skill. We worship this (aspect) of yours, O Wayu, that derives from
Spsnta Mainyu.
On account of his rayi and glory, I shall audibly worship strong Wayu
who has superior skill with libations. We worship strong Wayu who has
superior skill with haoma (mixed) with milk . . . [continue with Ny.
1.16 (p. 183)].
II
6. [Repeat st. 1.]
7. Haosyangha Paradhata worshipped him at the peak of Hara, joined
 Wayu I 99

with metals (?), on a golden throne. . . . [Continue with st. 2 from

". . . on a golden carpet."]
8. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that I might slay two-thirds of the daewas from the Mazan-
daran and the drugwants from Warana.
9. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "Haosyangha Paradhata"
for "Ahura Mazda."]
Ill
10. [Repeat st. 1.]
11. Taxma Urupi dressed in skins worshipped him on a golden throne.
. . . [Continue with st. 2 as above.]
12. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that I become victorious over all daewas and men, all sorcerers
and witches; so that for thirty years (?) I may ride around the limits of
the earth on Angra Mainyu transformed into the form of a horse.
13. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "Taxma Urupi" for "Ahura
Mazda."]
IV
14. [Repeat st. 1.]
15. Regal Yima rich in herds worshipped him from golden, all-shining
Mount Hukairya, on a golden throne. . . . [Continue with st. 2 as
above.]
16. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that I may come to possess the most xwarsnah among people,
like the sun among men, so that, under my rule, I may make cattle and
men not to die, water and vegetation not to dry up, (that I may make)
inexhaustible victuals [food].
In the reign of brave Yima there was neither cold nor heat, there was
neither old age nor death, nor daewa-created jealousy.
17. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "Yima" for "Ahura Maz-
da."]
V
18. [Repeat st. 1.]
19. Three-headed Azhi Dahaka worshipped him at (the city) Kwirinta,
the access to which is difficult, on a golden throne. . . . [Continue with
st. 2 as above.]
20. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that I may make unpopulated all the seven continents.
21. Wayu who has superior skill did not give this boon to him, (since he
 100 I Wayu

was) not worshipping, not petitioning, not invoking, not pious, not
bearing libations.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].
VI
22. [Repeat st. 1.]
23. The prince Thraetaona of the mighty house of the Athvyanids wor-
shipped him in quadrangular Warsna on a golden throne. . . . [Con-
tinue with st. 2 as above.]
24. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that I may become victorious over Azhi Dahaka who has three
mouths, three heads. . . . [Continue with Yt. 5.34 from ". . . six
eyes" (p. 122).]
25. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "Thraetaona" for "Ahura
Mazda."]
VII
26. [Repeat st. 1.]
27. Heroic-minded Karssaspa worshipped him at the Gudha, an outlet of
the Mazda-created Rangha (river) on a golden throng. . . . [Continue
with st. 2 as above.]
28. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that I may go down (?) as avenger of (my) brother Urwax-
shaya, that I may slay Hitaspa in order to carry (his body) back in (my)
chariot; likewise lordly Gafya, likewise lord Aewo.gafya, likewise the
aquatic (monster) Gandarava.
29. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "Karssaspa" for "Ahura
Mazda."]
VIII
30. [Repeat st. 1.]
31. Aurwasara, lord of the country, worshipped him in the whitish
forests, at the Whitish Forest, in the midst of the forest, on a golden
throne. . . . [Continue with st. 2 as above.]
32. He petitioned him: Give me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have supe-
rior skill, that the hero of the Aryan peoples, who consolidated the
realm, Haosrawah, not slay us two (?), that I may escape from Kawi
Haosrawah. Kawi Haosrawah will kill him in the Pan-Iranian forest!
33. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "Aurwasara" for "Ahura
Mazda."]
 Wayu I 101

IX
34. [Repeat st. 1.]
35. Hutaosa of the clan of the Naotarids, who had many brothers, wor-
shipped him on a golden throne. . . . [Continue with st. 2 as above.]
36. She petitioned him: Grant me this boon, Wayu, (you) who have
superior skill, that I may be dear, beloved, (and) respected in the house
of Kawi Wlshtaspa.
37. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "Hutaosa" for "Ahura
Mazda."]
X
38. [Repeat st. 1.]
39. Girls (as yet) unapproached by men worship him on a golden throne.
. . . [Continue with st. 2 as above.]
40. Then they petition him: Grant us this boon, Wayu, (you) who have
superior skill, that we may find a young householder whose bodily form
is most handsome, who will treat us well as long as we both shall live.
And may he, (being) clever, wise (?), and eloquent, beget offspring.
41. [Repeat sts. 4-5, with the substitution of "the girls" for "Ahura
Mazda."]
XI
42. [Repeat st. 1.]
We worship that which, rich and glorious, belongs to Sponta Mainyu.
43-48. (Epithet list.)
49. You should invoke (me) by these my names. I am (he), O righteous
Zarathushtra, who (stands?) between the bloodthirsty enemy armies,
between drawn-up battle lines, between the two warring countries.
50. You should invoke (me) by these my names, O righteous Zarathush-
tra, whom (?) the all-ruling ruler of the country (worships whether he
is?) walking or running, riding or driving in a chariot, seeking protection
or seeking healing.
51. You should invoke (me) by these my names, O righteous Zarathush-
tra, whom the unrighteous perverter of Truth (worships whether he is)
walking . . . [continue with st. 50].
52. You should invoke (me) by these my names, O righteous Zarathush-
tra, (whom a man worships?) when he may remain bound (or when)
bound he may be delivered (?), (or when) bound he may be led (away)
--.(?)
53. O Wayu, (who) among horses and men, among all (things), creates
uncertainty (?), (who) among all (things) works against the daewas!—
 102 I Wayu

and in the lowest and obscurest places he reaches the one who will seek
him.
54. With what (form of) worship should I worship you? With what (form
of) worship should I give worship? . . . ( ? ) Wayu, swift, high-girdled,
possessing firm yoke-thongs (?), high-stepping, broad-chested, broad-
hipped (?)—(his) two eyes, which do not become bloodshot (?),. . . (?)
55. [Obscure.]
56. If you (?) make me worshipped, I shall proclaim to you curative,
glorious, Mazda-created spells so that the much-devastating Angra
Mainyu will not overcome you, nor the sorcerer, nor one practicing
sorcery, nor a daewa, nor a man.
57. We worship swift Wayu. We worship fleet Wayu. We worship Wayu
the swiftest of the swift. We worship Wayu the fleetest of the fleet. We
worship Wayu whose helmet is golden. We worship Wayu whose cape
(?) is golden. We worship Wayu whose chariot is golden. We worship
Wayu whose (chariot) wheels are golden. We worship Wayu whose
weapons are golden. We worship Wayu whose clothes are golden. We
worship Wayu whose shoes are golden. We worship Wayu whose girdle
is golden.We worship righteous Wayu. We worship Wayu who has
superior skill.
We worship this (aspect) of yours, O Wayu, that derives from Spanta
Mainyu.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 5].

8. The Frawashis
One of the most complex and unusual phenomena of Zoroastrianism is
that of the Frawashis. The Frawashis, for reasons to be given, are guard-
ian spirits, which play three quite distinct roles. In one aspect, they are a
band of ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine powerful deities
whose functions and modes of operation are various. In their second
aspect, which in actual practice, as opposed to literary reference, may
have been as or more important than the first, they are ancestor spirits.
Finally, the frawashi is one of the spiritual elements of the human person-
ality. The meaning of the word frawashi is not completely certain. The
problem is that there are numerous war- verbs from which frawashi (*fra-
w(a)r-ti) could derive. The two best candidates seem to be war- 'to cover,
protect, ward off and *war- (IE uel-), which is equivalent to Latin valeo.
If the latter is the correct one, then frawashi will mean something like
 The Frawashis I 103

'pre-eminent valor' and so, applied to one who possesses it, 'hero'. One
should note that although the word frawashi is feminine in gender, there is
no indication that the Frawashis were thought to be women. In one in-
stance (st. 46), where, unfortunately, the translation is very tentative,
they may be referred to as 'heroes, men' (naro).
The Frawashis figure most prominently in the Avesta as a band or army
of armed warriors which flies from heaven to the protection of all the
material world menaced by the daewas' onslaught. Beyond the usual
Zoroastrian world view, which divides the world between drugwants and
ashawans, between daewas and ahuras, the Frawashis preserve an
ancient amoral trait also found in Mithra, in that they aid the party who is
first to worship them, and one may assume that in Iranian warfare careful
attention to their worship was an important prelude to battle. Even
though military prowess is their trademark, the Frawashis have other
far-reaching powers that derive from other sources, namely, their posses-
sion of insight and glory. The opening stanzas of Yasht 13 tell how they
came to the assistance of Ahura Mazda in the creation and maintenance of
the cosmos through "their insight a/nd glory" (angham raya
xwarananghaca). It is interesting that, just as Darius says repeatedly that
"Ahuramazda bore me aid" (Ahuramazda-mai upastam abara1), so
Ahura Mazda says that "they bore me aid" (\frawashay 6\ me baran
upastam}. The notion of creative power residing in insight is an archaic
feature of Aryan religion. On the efficacy of xwaranah, see sect. 6. Else-
where in the Avesta, the phrase ahe raya xwarananghaca "on account of
his rayi and xwarsnah" has become a formulaic refrain used in the praise
of all deities, where rayi- has become associated with a homonym mean-
ing 'wealth, opulence'. In contrast to Sasanid Zoroastrian theology, in
which the Frawashis are the creation of Ahura Mazda, here they appear
to be coeternal with him. That the Yasht's authors did not have recourse
to the common device of attributing a god's creation to Ahura Mazda (as
in, e.g., Yt. 10.1 [p. 59]) is probably due to the fact that Ahura Mazda
himself has a frawashi.
In their role as warriors and as maintainers of the proper cosmic order,
the Frawashis, along with Arodwi Sura Anahita, Tishtrya, and Sata-
waesa, are involved with the unending struggle for water. In addition to
aiding the above-mentioned deities, they themselves must fight for the
water that overflows from the Wouru.kasha sea. Each Frawashi must
secure the water necessary for the families and clans under its personal
guardianship.
Sts. 49-52 of the Frawashi Yasht give clear testimony to the fact that in
some way the Frawashis were regarded as ancestor spirits. There they are
described as coming to their respective settlements at the Hamaspath-
 104 I The Frawashis

maedaya festival. This festival, whose name is of uncertain meaning,

functioned as an "all-souls' day," the last day (or days) of the year, at
which time the spirits of the deceased return to their houses on earth to be
received with all due hospitality by the living. The latter part of the Yasht
(omitted here) contains long lists of names of deceased people whose
frawashis are to be worshipped. In later Zoroastrianism, the worship of
the deceased's frawashi is an important part of the complex funeral cere-
monies and the ensuing commemorative rites. The association of the
frawashi with the dead is seen outside Zoroastrianism in the use in Chris-
tian Sogdian of the word frwrt-qty 'house of the frawart', i.e., 'tomb'.
The third aspect of the frawashi is that of guardian spirit, as a spiritual
element of the human personality. Like many peoples, the ancient Ira-
nians counted a number of what we might call souls. Apart from the 'life
principle' (ahu) and consciousness (baodhah), there were three elements
that enjoyed special independent existence. That which comes closest to
the modern notion of soul, and which is so translated, is the urwan. It is
an individual's guiding moral faculty. When a person dies, it is the urwan
that passes over into the next existence. It is judged according to its good
and bad deeds, and it alone must suffer punishment or enjoy rewards
according to the judgment. Zoroastrians believe that after death the
urwan tarries in the vicinity of the body for three days, after which,
conveyed by Wayu, it journeys to the Cinwat bridge (Bridge of Judgment)
where it is judged. The souls that are deemed good cross over and pro-
ceed to heaven; those deemed evil fall into the abyss. In all of this the
deceased's frawashi plays a role as guardian of the soul, as, no doubt, it
guarded the soul during life. The eschatological picture is not complete,
however, without the introduction of the third spiritual entity, the daena
(a homonym of the word for [the Zoroastrian] religion). The daena seems
to be a kind of spiritual double of the individual, which is involved in the
moral and religious decisions one must make through life. At the Cinwat
bridge, the urwan meets its daena, which will either be in the form of a
beautiful maiden, if good, or in the form of an ugly woman, if evil. The
evidence for this complex of beliefs in the Avesta is sparse, but does not
contradict it. As in the Pahlavi books, there is a certain amount of confu-
sion between the urwan and the frawashi. In one place (Y. 16.7), the
departed souls in heaven are specifically called the Frawashis of the right-
eous.
The frawashi itself, one may suppose, preexists the individual for
whom it is destined as a guardian spirit. It enjoys an independent exist-
ence as a deity, and is apparently unaffected by the moral quality of the
individual, although, it is true, only the frawashis of the righteous are
mentioned. Also unlike the urwan, it is equally unaffected by the indi-
 The Frawashis I 105

vidual's death. One can conclude on the basis of later practice that once
the urwan had been sent off on its journey, the frawashi of the deceased
became the object of veneration. The urwan, residing, as it would, in
either heaven or hell, would be incapable of attending to worldly affairs,
whereas the frawashi would be perfectly able to do so.
The origins of the Frawashis, if they can be traced at all, are to be found
in several places, since there is no real Vedic counterpart. Whereas the
Frawashis are the only collective deities in Iranian religion, there are a
number of such groups in the Vedas. With one group, the Maruts, the
Frawashis share their warrior nature and in a somewhat vague manner
their concern for water. As ancestor spirits of each deceased person, they
are like the Pitaras or manes (manusyah pitarah). In respect to their
divine powers they appear to have an affinity with the Angirases, the
"heavenly fathers" (devah pitarah). I know of no precedent for their role
as guardian spirits. Whether the Frawashis represent a later combination
of originally separate entities or an ancient complex is a matter without an
easy solution. In either case, they are one of the truly unique concepts of
Zoroastrianism.

Frawashi (Frawardm) Yasht (Yasht 13)

1. Ahura Mazda said to Zarathushtra the Spitamid: Let me then tell you
about the strength and power, the glory and help and support of the
mighty, victorious Frawashis of the Righteous, O upright Spitamid,
how the mighty Frawashis of the Righteous came to help me, how they
brought me support.
2. Through their rayi and glory, I support, O Zarathushtra, yonder
heaven, above, shining and clear, which is all around this earth, as it
were like a bird (all around) an egg, which abides, established by
(Spanta) Mainyu, firmly fixed, with distant limits, with the appearance
of a bright crystal glimmering over the three(fold world),
3. which Mazda wears as a mantle decorated with stars, fashioned by
(Spanta) Mainyu, in company with Mithra and Rashnu, and Spsnta
Armaiti, of which the two borders of the sides are not visible to anyone.
4. Through their rayi and glory, I support, O Zarathushtra, Arsdwl Sura
Anahita, who spreads abroad . . . [continue with Yt. 5.1 (p. 120)].
5-8. [Yt. 5.2-5.1
9. Through their rayi and glory, I support, O Zarathushtra, the broad,
Ahura-created earth which is great and wide, which is the carrier of
much prosperity, which carries all material existence both living and
dead, and the high mountains rich in water, rich in pasture land,
 106 I The Frawashis

10. upon whom channel waters flow flowing in streams, upon whom
many sorts of plants grow up from the earth, for the protection of
animals and man, for the protection of the Aryan peoples, for the
protection of the five kinds of animals, for the help of righteous men.
11. Through their rayi and glory, I, O Zarathushtra, maintain the sons
conceived in the mothers (so that) they do not die; until the appointed
time, at birth, I put together the bones and hair and muscles and intes-
tines and sinews and nails.
12. For if the mighty Frawashis of the Righteous had not given me
support, in that case the animals and men which are the best of the
(various) species would not have been mine. Power would have been
the Lie's, dominion the Lie's, material existence the Lie's.
13. Of the two Spirits, the Liar would have installed himself on earth
and in heaven. Of the two Spirits, the Liar would have been victorious
on earth and in heaven. Nor afterward would the conqueror give in to
the conquered, (that is,) Angra Mainyu to Spanta Mainyu.
14. Through their rayi and glory, the waters flow with a forward course
near undiminishing springs.
Through their rayi and glory, plants grow up from the earth near
undiminishing springs.
Through their rayi and glory, the winds, flying in the clouds, blow
near undiminishing springs.
15. Through their rayi and glory, women conceive sons, through their
rayi and glory, they give birth with easy delivery, through their rayi and
glory, (it is) that they are with sons.
16. Through their rayi and glory, a man is born, eloquent, who makes
his words heard in verbal contests, whose judgment is sought after,
who comes away from the discussion victorious over the defeated
Gaotama.
Through their rayi and glory, the sun goes on that path; through their
rayi and glory, the moon goes on that path; through their rayi and glory,
the stars go on that path.
17. They are the best givers of help in the mighty battles, the Frawashis
of the Righteous.
These Frawashis of the Righteous are the most powerful, O Spita-
mid, who (are) of the previous teachers, who (are) indeed of the unborn
men, (that is,) the Saoshyants who (will) accomplish the Renovation.
Furthermore, the Frawashis of others, of the living righteous men, are
stronger, O Zarathushtra, than (those) of the dead (righteous), O Spita-
mid.
18. And which man, an all-ruling ruler of the country, while living will
 The Frawashis I 107

treat them well, the Frawashis of the Righteous, he will become a most
successful ruler of men, whoever he may be—who indeed (also) treats
well Mithra of wide pastures and property furthering property—in-
creasing Justice.
19. Thus I tell you about the strength and power, the glory and help and
support of the mighty, victorious Frawashis of the Righteous, O upright
Spitamid, how they brought me support.
20. Ahura Mazda said to Zarathushtra, the Spitamid: Now, in case, in
this material existence, O Zarathushtra Spitamid, a cattle thief crosses
your path and if there is fear for yourself of frightening terrors and
perils, then you should learn these words by heart, then you should
utter these victorious words, O Zarathushtra.
21. The good, strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Righteous I praise, I
invoke, I celebrate. We worship the N many as, the VIsyas, the Zantu-
mas, the Dahyumas, the Zarathushtrotsmas, (those who) are among the
existing Righteous, (those who) are among (the Righteous) who have
existed, (those who) are among (the Righteous) who will exist, all of
every land, the most powerful of the most powerful lands;
22. who support heaven, who support the water(s), who support the
earth, who maintain the animals, who maintain the sons conceived in
the mothers (so that) they do not die; until the appointed time, at birth,
they put together the bones and hair and muscles and intestines and
sinews and nails;
23. who bring much, who come powerfully (?), who come themselves
(?), who come swiftly (?), who come strongly (?), who come at the call
(?), who are to be invoked at bloody fights, who are to be invoked at
battles, who are to be invoked at fights;
24. who give victory to him who invokes (them), grant a boon to him
who seeks (it), give health to the sick, give good fortune to him, a
libation-offering righteous man, who, worshipping (and) propitiating,
invokes them;
25. who are wont to turn most to that place where righteous men believe
most strongly in Truth, and where the offerings are greatest, and where
the righteous man is satisfied, and where the righteous man is not
treated with hostility.
26. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Right-
eous, the strongest of drivers (of chariots), the swiftest of those riding
forth, the least oppressed of those who are hard pressed, the most
serviceable of supports, the least vanquishable of weapons and armor,
who make the attack in which they come impossible to divert.
27. These good, these best we worship, the good, strong, beneficent
 108 I The Frawashis

Frawashis of the Righteous; they, indeed, should be invoked at the

strewn barssman, they at the battles, they at the fights, they where
brave men fight in the battles.
28. Mazda called upon them for help, for the support (?) of yon heaven
and of the water(s) and of the earth and of the plants, so that Spanta
Mainyu might support the heaven, the water(s), the earth, the animals,
the plants, so that he might maintain the sons conceived in the mothers
(so that) they do not die; until the appointed time, at birth he puts
together the bones and hair and muscles and intestines and sinews and
nails.
29. Spanta Mainyu maintains (the Frawashis) who are powerful, abide
in silence, have good eyes, are keen-eyed, have (good) hearing, are
very patient, who are tall, high girdled, who have a good gait, a broad
gait, whose breathing is fast, . . . ( ? ) famed, (who) support heaven.
30. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Right-
eous, who offer good fellowship, who offer good community, with
whom it is best to dwell for the purpose of long successions (of descen-
dants, for those people) who do not anger you beforehand, O (you)
good ones, profound, far-seeing, curative, famed, winning in battle.
31. We worship . . . Righteous, who have a terrible disposition toward
enemies, have superior ability, are most strong, who, (coming) from
above to the battle, smash the powerful arms of the hostile armies.
32. We worship . . . Righteous, (who are) faithful, brave, powerful,
incomparable, fortunate, beneficent, curative, accompanied by the
curative power of Ashi, which is as broad as the earth, long as a river,
high as the sun.
33. We worship . . . Righteous, who are brave, valiant, battling, blood-
thirsty, (who) crush (and) destroy the hostilities of all enemies—gods
and men—(who) strike down (their) opponents in the onslaught accord-
ing to their own will and inclination.
34. You good ones, (being) most powerful, consign the Ahura-
granted Victory and conquering Superiority to those countries where
you good ones, not angered, satisfied, unharmed, not treated with hos-
tility, (being) worthy of worship, worthy of praise, go about on your
chosen course.
35. We worship . . . Righteous, (who are) famed, winning in battle,
attacking, (who) carry shields, cannot be moved from (?) the straightest
(paths), to whom both the pursuer and the pursued call for help: the
pursuer calls (for assistance) in order to catch, the pursued, in order to
escape;
 The Frawashis I 109

36. who are wont to turn most to that place where righteous men believe
most strongly in Truth, and where the offerings (are) greatest, and
where the righteous man (has been) satisfied.
37. We worship . . . Righteous, (who) form a numerous army, girded
with weapons, with upraised banners, shining, who, then, in the terrible
battles, came down for the sake of the Xshtawis, when (?) the brave
Xshtawians waged war against the Danus.
38. You, then, overcame the resistance of the Turanian Danus.
You, then, overcame the hostilities of the Turanian Danus.
Thanks to you, the Karshnazids, having good men, became the
strongest, (as well as) the brave Xshtawians, the brave Saoshyants, the
brave victorious (men).
You destroyed the crumbling (dwellings) together with (their) sites of
the Danus who are lords of tens of thousands.
39. We worship . . . Righteous, who smash the two sides of the battle
line standing (close) together, drive apart the center, swiftly drive forth
from behind for the help of righteous men, for the affliction of those
who work evil.
40. We worship . . . Righteous, who are strong, unshakable, victorious
winners in battle, pacifying, pursuing, decisive, whose thrusts are
quick, whose bodies nimble, whose souls are noble, righteous, who are
givers of victory to him who calls, givers of a boon to him who has been
desirous, givers of health to the sick,
41. givers of good fortune to him who will so worship them as that man
worshipped them, righteous Zarathushtra, ratu of the material world,
the apex of the two-legged (world), coming for the sake of whatever
crises, concerned for whatever distress,
42. who, being called up, spiritually impelled, come forth from the sum-
mit of heaven to help, (who) possess well-built Strength and Ahura-
created Victoriousness and conquering Superiority and Profit which
brings riches, which brings boons, which is righteous, abundant,
worthy of worship, worthy of praise according to the Best Truth.
43. They (i.e., the Frawashis) release Satawaesa between heaven and
earth, who lets the water fall, listens to the call, who lets the waters fall,
lets the plants grow, for the protection of both cattle and men, for the
protection of the Aryan people, for the protection of the five kinds of
animals, for the help of righteous men.
44. In between earth and heaven will come Satawaesa who lets the
water fall, listens to the call, who lets the water fall, the plants grow,
beautiful, shining, full of light, for the protection of cattle and men, for
 110 I The Fraw as his

the protection of the Aryan lands, for the protection of the five kinds of
animals, for the help of righteous men.
45. We worship . . . Righteous, (who) have metal helmets, metal
weapons, metal shields, who fight in battles surrounded by light, having
strung arrows which they are carrying in order to kill the daewas by the
thousands.
46. When the wind blows forth among them (i.e., the Frawashis) bearing
the scent of men, these heroes recognize (these men) in whom is the
scent of victory. They (i.e., the men) extend offerings to them, to the
good, heroic, beneficent Frawashis of the Righteous, before the bow
has been strung, before it has been raised with both hands.
47. Whichever of the two (parties), indeed, worships them first, be-
lie vingly with foreknowing thought from a trusting mind, in that direc-
tion do the strong Frawashis of the Righteous turn, together with
Mithra and Rashnu and the strong Damoish Upamana, together with
the victorious Wind.
48. They strike down the peoples at a blow with a hundred blows for
(every) fifty blows. . . . [Continue with Yt. 10.43 from " . . . and with
one thousand blows" (p. 64).] Where the strong Frawashis of the
Righteous turn, together with Mithra and Rashnu and the strong
Damoish Upamana, together with the victorious Wind.
49. We worship . . . Righteous, who fly hither up to the settlement at
Hamaspathmaedaya time. Here, then, they move about for ten nights,
desiring to learn this:
50. Who will praise, who will worship, who will laud, who will propiti-
ate, who will welcome us with hand(s) holding meat (and) clothing, with
Truth-attaining reverence? By whom will our name(s) be sung, by
whom will your soul(s) be worshipped, to which one of us will this gift
be given that he may have inexhaustible food for ever and ever?
51. Then the man who will worship them with hand(s) holding meat
(and) clothing, with Truth-attaining reverence, the strong Frawashis of
the Righteous bless (when they) are satisfied, not injured, not treated
with hostility.
52. May there be in this house herds of cattle and (troops) of men, and
may there be a swift horse and a sturdy chariot, may the man be
steadfast (and) eloquent who, indeed, will worship us with hand(s)
holding meat (and) clothing, with Truth-attaining reverence.
53. We worship . . . Righteous, who show beautiful paths to the Maz-
da-created waters which earlier stood still in the same place, for a very
long time, (after) having been created, (but) not having flowed forth.
 The Frawashis I 111

54. Thus, these now flow forth along the Mazda-created path(s), the
god-provided course(s) at the appointed time, to the liking of Ahura
Mazda, to the liking of the Amasha Spantas.
55. We worship . . . Righteous, who show beautiful growth to the well-
pruned plants which earlier stood still in the same place, for a very long
time, (after) having been created, (but) not growing forth.
56. Thus, these now grow forth along the Mazda-created path(s), the
god-provided course(s) at the appointed time, to the liking of Ahura
Mazda, to the liking of the Amasha Spantas.
57. We worship . . . Righteous, who, (being) righteous, showed the
paths to the stars, the moon, the sun, (and) Infinite Lights, which earlier
stood still in the same place, for a very long time, without moving
forward, because of the hostility of the daewas, because of the decep-
tions of the daewas.
58. Thus, these now move forth (along the path) whose turning point is
distant, (eventually) reaching the road's turning point which is the good
Frashokaroti.
59. We worship . . . Righteous, who, ninety-nine thousand, nine hun-
dred ninety-nine (strong), watch over that sea, the shining Wouru.
kasha.
60. We worship . . . Righteous, who, ninety-nine thousand, nine hun-
dred ninety-nine (strong), watch over those stars, Hapto.iringa.
61. We worship . . . Righteous, who, ninety-nine thousand, nine hun-
dred ninety-nine (strong), watch over the body of the Samid Ksrasaspa
with the (long) locks of hair, bearing a cudgel.
62. We worship . . . Righteous, who, ninety-nine thousand, nine hun-
dred ninety-nine (strong), watch over that semen of the righteous Spita-
mid Zarathushtra.
63. We worship . . . Righteous, who fight at the right (hand) of the
ruling lord if he satisfies the Righteous, if by him the strong Frawashis
of the Righteous are not angered, are satisfied, are not done violence,
are not treated with hostility.
64. We worship . . . Righteous, who are greater, who are more power-
ful, who are braver, who are stronger, who are more victorious, who
are more curative, who are braver than words can express, who by tens
of thousands ride in among those offering oblations.
65. And when the waters, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, flow forth from the
Wouru.kasha sea, and when the Mazda-created Xwaranah (emerges),
then the strong Frawashis of the Righteous issue forth, numerously by
 112 I The Frawashis

the many hundreds, numerously by the many thousands, numerously

by the many tens of thousands,
66. searching for water, each for his own family, for his own settlement,
for his own clan, for his own land, saying thus, "Will our own land
decline and dry up?"
67. They fight in battles for their own place and dwelling [as (a man) has
a place and a house to live in], just as a man, a brave warrior, (always)
defends (his) well-collected wealth, girded with weapons.
68. And then whichever of them are victorious bring away the water,
each for his own family, for his own settlement, for his own clan, for his
own land, saying thus, "May our own land prosper and flourish!"
69. When the all-ruling ruler of the land is beset by hostile enemies, then
he, whoever he is, calls upon the strong Frawashis of the Righteous.
70. They will come to him for help, if by him they are not angered, are
satisfied, not done violence to, not treated with hostility, the strong
Frawashis of the Righteous; they swoop down to him just like an eagle.
71. They stand ready as his weapon and armor, support and fortification
against the invisible Lie, the concupiscent, deceiving (Lie), and
(against) the destructive conjurer, against the Deceiver, who causes
many deaths, Angra Mainyu, as if one hundred, and one thousand, and
ten thousand sheaves were threshed,
72. so that, because of this, neither a well-thrown knife, nor a well-
wielded mace, nor a well-drawn arrow, nor a well-hurled spear, nor
stones thrown by the arm may hit (him).
73. They are prepared for that and they are prepared for even more,
sitting quietly, the good, strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Righteous,
desiring to know this: Who will praise,. . . [continue, repeating st. 50].
74. We worship the noble minds, we worship the daenas of the Saviors,
we worship the souls of the domesticated animals, we worship (the
souls) of the wild animals, we worship (the souls) of the aquatic ani-
mals, we worship (the souls) of the animals living in the ground, we
worship (the souls) of the birds, we worship (the souls) of the plains
animals, we worship (the souls) of the pasture animals, we worship the
Frawashis.
75. We worship the Frawashis, we worship the faithful, we worship the
brave, we worship the bravest, we worship the beneficent, we worship
the most beneficent, we worship the strong, we worship the strongest,
we worship the firm, we worship the unshakable, we worship the
mighty, we worship the most powerful, we worship the fleet, we
worship the fleetest, we worship the brave, we worship the bravest,
 The Frawashis / 113

76. for they are the bravest of the creation of both Spirits, the good,
strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Righteous, who rose up (to help)
then when the two Spirits, both the Beneficent Spirit and the Evil,
created (their) creations.
77. When the Evil Spirit stormed the creation of Good Truth, Good
Mind and Fire rushed in between.
78. These two overcame the hostilities of him, the lying Evil Spirit, so
that he could not stay the waters in (their) courses, nor the plants in
(their growing); all at once the strongest waters of the strong, ruling
creator Ahura Mazda flowed forth and the plants grew up.
79. We worship all the waters, we worship all the plants, we worship all
the good, strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Righteous; by (their)
name(s) we worship the waters, by (their) name(s) we worship the
plants, by (their) name(s) we worship the good, strong, beneficent Fra-
washis of the Righteous.
80. Of all these original Frawashis we now worship that Frawashi which
is Ahura Mazda's, the greatest, the best, the most beautiful, the most
solid, the wisest, the best built, the highest in terms of Truth,
81. whose (i.e., Ahura Mazda's) soul is the Holy Word, white, shining,
spotless, and the forms which he (i.e., the Frawashi of Ahura Mazda)
assumes (are) the beautiful forms of the Amasha Spsntas, the blossom-
ing (forms) of the Amasha Spantas.
We worship the Sun whose horses are swift.
82. We worship the good, strong, beneficent Frawashis of the Right-
eous, who are of the radiant, perspicacious, lofty, aggressive, swift,
ahuric Amasha Spantas, who are righteous, free from danger,
83. (all) seven of the same mind, (all) seven of the same speech, (all)
seven of the same deed and the same father and ruler, who is the
Creator, Ahura Mazda,
84. of whom the one looks upon the soul of the other (which is) thinking
upon "good thoughts," thinking upon "good speech," thinking upon
"good acts," thinking upon Garo.nmana; whose paths are shining as
they fly hither to the libations.
85. We worship . . . Righteous, and that (Frawashi) of the beneficent,
eloquent Urwazisht fire, and that of brave Sraosha the companion of
Ashi, who is tanu.mathra, the ahuric wielder of a heavy cudgel, and
that of Nairya Sangha,
86. and that of most just Rashnu, and that of Mithra of wide pastures,
and that of the Mathra Spsnta, and that of the heaven, and that of the
waters, and that of the earth, and that of the plants, and that of the
Cow, and that of Gaya (Marotan), and that of the blessed Righteous.
 114 I The F'rawashis

87. We worship the Frawashi of righteous Gaya Marstan, who first

listened to the thought and teachings of Ahura Mazda, from whom
(Mazda) fashioned forth the families of the Aryan peoples, the seed of
the Aryan peoples.
We now worship Ashi and the Frawashi of righteous Zarathushtra
the Spitamid,
88. the first who has thought the "good," the first who has spoken the
"good," the first who has done the "good," the first priest, the first
warrior, the first agriculturalist, the first who finds (for others), the first
who causes himself to find, the first who has gained (for himself), the
first who has gained (for others) the Cow and the Word and Obedience
to the Word and Dominion and all the Mazda-created Good that origi-
nates in Truth;
89. who was the first priest, who was the first warrior, who was the first
agriculturalist, who first turned (his) face away from the daewic and
human brood; who first of the material world praised Truth, vilified the
daewas, chose (the religion as) a Mazda worshipper, a Zoroastrian, an
enemy of the daewas, a follower of ahuric doctrine;
90. who first of the material world spoke daewa-repudiating words
which follow ahuric doctrine; who first of the material world pro-
claimed daewa-repudiating words which follow ahuric doctrine, who
first of the material world has said that everything having to do with the
daewas is unworthy of worship, unworthy of praise; who is strong,
accompanied by all good life, the first teacher of the countries;
91. by whom the Ashsm (wohu) which contains all mathras was made
known, (who is) ahu and ratu of the world, the praiser of Truth which is
the greatest and the best and the most beautiful (?), and (who is) the
interpreter of the Religion which is the best of the existing (religions);
92. whom all the Amssha Spantas, in harmony with the sun, believingly
with foreknowing thought from a trusting mind, sought as the ahu and
the ratu of the world, the praiser of Truth which is the greatest and the
best and the most beautiful, the interpreter of the Religion which is the
best of the existing (religions);
93. at whose birth and growth the plants and waters recovered, at whose
birth and growth the plants and waters grew, at whose birth and growth
all the beneficently created creatures called down upon themselves
well-being.
94. According to our wish a priest has been born, the Spitamid
Zarathushtra. Zarathushtra will worship us with libations, with strewn
barasman. From now on, the good Mazdean Religion will spread out
over all the seven regions.
 The Frawashis I 115

95. From now on, Mithra of wide pastures will promote all supreme
authorities of the countries and will pacify those in revolt. From now
on, strong Apam Napat will promote all the supreme authorities of the
countries and will subjugate those in revolt.
96-98. [Omitted.]
99. We worship the Frawashi of righteous Kawi Wlshtaspa, brave, per-
sonifying the Word, the ahuric wielder of a heavy cudgel, who with bow
and arrow sought open space for Truth, who with bow and arrow found
open space for Truth, who stood prepared for this ahuric Zarathush-
trian Religion as arm and support,
100. who freed her (the Religion) who was stationary, being bound, from
(her) fetters, (who) set her down (so that she was) sitting in the middle,
ruling on high, unshakable, righteous, abundant in cattle and pastures,
happy about (her) cattle and pastures.
101-144. [Omitted.]
145. We worship the Frawashis of the righteous men of all countries, we
worship the Frawashis of the righteous women of all countries, we
worship all the good, strong, beneficent Frawashis from Gaya Maratan
up to the Victorious Saoshyant.
146. May the Frawashis of the Righteous come here to us immediately,
may they come to us for help. They protect us even (while) we are in
difficulties with visible (acts of) help, with helpful Ahura Mazda and
strong Sraosha, the companion of Ashi, and the wise Mathra Spanta,
which is the daewa-repudiating messenger of daewa-repudiating Ahura
Mazda, which Zarathushtra appointed as helper for the material exist-
ence.
147. May you good ones settle down, you waters and you plants and you
Frawashis of the Righteous; here you will be beloved (and) welcomed
in this house; here the priests of the lands think upon good Truth, they
raise up (their) hands for our help, O strong ones, for your worship, O
strongest ones!
148. We worship now the Frawashi(s) of all those righteous men and
women whose souls are to be worshipped and whose Frawashis are to
be invoked.
We worship now the Frawashi(s) of all those righteous men and
women in whose worship righteous Ahura Mazda knows (what is) bet-
ter for us.
Among all these we have heard (that) Zarathushtra (was) the first,
best ahuric teacher.
149. We worship now the ahu and the daena and the baodhah and the
urwan and the frawashi of the first teachers (and) of the first to have
 116 I The Frawashis

listened to the teachings, of the righteous men and women who have
won a victory for Truth.
We worship now the ahu and the daena and the baodhah and the
urwan and the frawashi of the righteous men and women who are next
of kin, who have won a victory for Truth.
150. We worship the first teachers of the families and of the villages and
of the clans and of the countries, who have been.
We worship the first teachers of the families and of the villages and of
the clans and of the countries, who will be.
We worship the first teachers of the families and of the villages and of
the clans and of the countries, who are.
151. We worship the first teachers of the families and of the villages and
of the clans and of the countries, who (have) acquired a family, who
(have) acquired a village, who (have) acquired a clan, who (have) ac-
quired a country, who (have) acquired the Word, who (have) acquired
the soul, who (have) acquired the good, all good things.
152. We worship Zarathushtra, the ahu and ratu, and the first teacher of
all material existence, of beings the most beneficent, of beings having
the best dominion, of beings the most intelligent, of beings having the
most glory, of beings the most worthy of worship, of beings the most
worthy of praise, of beings the one most to be pleased, of beings the
most lauded, a man who is called "worshipped," "worthy of worship,"
"worthy of praise," just as (he is called) by each of the beings accord-
ing to Truth which is best.
153. We worship this earth and we worship yonder heaven and we
worship the good things which are in between, worthy of worship and
worthy of praise, (which) are to be worshipped by a righteous man.
154. And we worship the souls of the harmless wild animals. Then we
worship the souls of righteous men and women wherever born, whose
better daenas win a victory or will win a victory or have won a victory.
155. We worship now the ahu and the daena and the baodhah and the
urwan and the frawashi of the righteous men and women who, learned
in the Religion, win a victory, will win a victory, have won a victory,
who have won a victorv for Truth.
Yenghe hatam . . . [Repeat prayer (p. 182).]
Yatha ahu wairyo . . . [Repeat prayer (p. 183).]
156. May (those) Frawashis among (?) the strong, completely victo-
rious, strong, victorious Frawashis of the Righteous, among the Fra-
washis of the first teachers, among the Frawashis of the next of kin
come into this house, satisfied may they move about in this house.
 Arddwf Sura Anahita I 117

157. Satisfied, may they wish upon this house good beneficient Ashi.
May they depart from this house satisfied; may they carry (with them)
hymns of praise and prescribed (ritual) acts to the Creator, Ahura Maz-
da, and to the Amasha Spsntas, may they not by any means go away
lamenting from this house and (from that) of us Mazda worshippers.

9. Aradwi Sura Anahita

Deeply rooted in Indo-Iranian religion was the belief in the extreme sanc-
tity of water in general and specifically of bodies of water, especially
rivers. Like other divinized elements of the material world, the waters
must be understood from the religious perspective to be at once a physical
entity and a divine reality. For the ancient Iranians water was never a
neutral, objective substance, but rather substance and divinity in one.
Herodotus tells the—from the Greek perspective—ridiculous story of
how Xerxes, furious at the Hellespont for having wrecked the Persian
bridge across it, had it flogged with three hundred lashes and severely
chastised. Such madness, we must understand, was predicated on
Xerxes' perception of the Hellespont as a living divinity.
One of the longest Yashts belongs to Aradwl Sura Anahita, a complex
goddess, whose nature is rooted in the conception of her as the Heavenly
River who feeds, so to speak, all the other rivers and streams of the world
(see sect. 12.) In Pahlavi her Yasht is usually referred to as the Abdn
Yasht, "Yasht belonging to the Waters." Throughout the Yasht her overt
fluvial nature alternates with her anthropomorphic manifestations, some-
times to such an extent that the two are indistinguishable (sts. 7, 15).
Much of what is said of her in the Yasht points to her supremacy over
water. There are other aspects of her personality, however, which, when
compared with non-Avestan sources, point to non-Aryan origins.
The name arddwl sura andhita 'the Moist Strong Untainted' poses a
number of problems. In the post-Avestan Zoroastrian tradition, the god-
dess is almost always referred to as simply Ardwisur. The name Anahld
does occur sporadically, but in isolation from Ardwisur, and usually it is
seen in astrological contexts as the name for the planet Venus. As already
noted (sect. 1), Artaxerxes II invoked Anahita, along with Mithra and
Ahuramazda, but never Aradwi Sura Anahita. In Greek she goes only by
the name 'Avai/ris. The declension of the name in both Old Persian and
Avestan shows a peculiarity. By all rights, the nominative singular femi-
nine should be * andhita, yet it is andhita (so in Av; OPers has 'nhf). The
 118 I Arddwi Sura Anahita

Greek reflects an Iranian *Anahiti, that is a feminine ending in short /.

Now, the defective language of Artaxerxes' inscriptions shows that the
actual language of the time was well along its way in a transition from the
inflected older form to the greatly simplified Middle Persian, one in which
nominal stems ending in short vowels lose their final vowels. It has been
argued that both the Avestan and Old Persian reflect this change and that,
further, the original name was *Andhiti. When the name was reintro-
duced, the identity of the original vowel having been forgotten, one was
no longer sure how to give the nominative. What might this mean? The
linguistic evidence seems to suggest two things: (1) the non-Avestan us-
age indicates that one may have to reckon with two distinct goddesses
who have been united in the Avesta; (2) the incorporation of the god-
dess(es) into the Zoroastrian canon may be recent.
It has already been pointed out that, in Old Persian and Greek, anahit(a)
and 'Avail-is, respectively, occur. If this should arouse a suspicion that
the name belonged to western Iran, confirmation comes from the fact that
during the period of Hellenistic syncretism the cult of Anahid/'AvaiTi<;
was joined to those of Artemis, Aphrodite, Cybele, Athena-Minerva,
Hera, and even Magna Mater, and enjoyed great popularity throughout
the Near East. A wholly unusual feature of Anahita's cult was the employ-
ment of images of the goddess. Not only does Artaxerxes mention her,
but the Babylonian historian Berossus informs us that the king had many
images of her made and distributed. Ancient Indo-Iranian religion did not
employ images, and Herodotus explicitly states (see Introduction, p. 14)
that the Persians thought it to be folly. One can only conclude that the
source of Anahita images is to be located outside Iranian culture. Keeping
this in mind, one must consider the extensive description of Aradwi Sura
Anahita, given at the end of the Yasht (sts. 126-129), to be based on an
observation of a cult image. Since nowhere else in Vedic or Avestan
literature does such a detailed description of a deity's garment occur, this
conclusion seems inescapable. Now, if the description of her is based on
an image, and if the whole idea of sculptural representation of deities is
alien to the Aryan religious mind, what might the source of her image be?
The best candidate is the Babylonian goddess Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna),
whose image was elaborately dressed for worship.33 The differences in
dress between Ishtar and Arsdwi Sura Anahita, especially the beaver
coat, show that the borrowing was not direct, rather that the idea of
dressing the image was suggested by the dressing of Ishtar. The connec-
tion with Ishtar would remain weak if it were not for other correspond-
ences. Ishtar was worshipped as a fertility goddess, a role actively played
by Arsdwl Sura Anahita. More important for the comparison, Ishtar was
a goddess of war and patroness of the palace. It can hardly be an accident
 Arsdwi Sura Anahita I 119

that a greater part of the Ardwlsur Yasht is taken up with the goddess's
martial traits and her patronage of heroes of Iranian legend. As goddess of
war, Ishtar rides upon a lion. This feature, though not found in the Aves-
ta, occurs on the widespread Kushan coins of NANA (Nanaia), a goddess
who in terms of Iranian syncretism is to be identified with Anahita.
The foregoing discussion may be summarized as follows. The Avestan
Aradwl Sura Anahita is a syncretistic goddess composed of two major and
independent elements. On the one hand, she manifests the ancient Indo-
Iranian idea of the Heavenly River who brings the waters to the rivers and
streams of the earth. On the other hand, she is a goddess of uncertain
origin, who, though maintaining many of her original traits, came to be
associated with the cult of Inanna-Ishtar. The merging of the two in the
Avesta must be a late syncretistic effort on the part of Zoroastrians anx-
ious to bring Anahita into the fold. The origin of Anahita is, as I have
said, uncertain. One clue may be present in her Yasht, however: the
description of her beaver coat. It is obvious from the nature of that
description that beavers were not known to the audience for whom the
Yasht was redacted. The Old World beaver (Castor fiber] did not range
south of the Caspian nor along the rivers and lakes of the Aral-Caspian
steppe, but was plentiful in the Caucasus. In fact, Herodotus (IV.I09)
mentions beaver among the Scythians, and in Roman imperial times,
beaver from the Black Sea area (called 'Pontic dog', canis ponticus) was
an item of active trade. Perhaps Anahita was a local goddess of the
extreme northwest whose cult, for whatever reasons, diffused throughout
western Iran, eventually to join with that of Inanna-Ishtar.
Returning to Arodwl Sura Anahita's Aryan heritage, one finds that,
although she represents the commonly shared concept of the Heavenly
River, she has no counterpart in the Vedas bearing the same name or a
name remotely resembling hers. Lommel, however, in an important
article,34 set forth a body of evidence to show that she actually is the river
goddess Sarasvati. Quite apart from the obvious fact that Arsdwl Sura
Anahita and Sarasvati are both identified as the Heavenly River, corre-
spondences such as their association with rain, fertility, and sacred study
also point to the very real possibility of common origins. Unconvincing is
Lommel's claim that aradwi sura, and anahita are nothing more than
epithets of a *HarahwatI, as are his attempts to connect Aradwl Sura
Anahita *HarahwatI to Sarasvati through the geographic province name
HarahwatI (Arachosia).
The Ardwlsur Yasht should be read with an eye to a diversity of origins,
which is reflected in chronological levels of the text. The redaction of the
text, at the least, must be late Achaemenid. If the reason for the impor-
tance of this goddess for Iran's legendary history is her association with
 120 I Aradwi Sura Anahita
Ishtar, then one shall have to rule that all the Kardahs describing her aid
to heroes are late adaptations (see sect. 10), albeit of ancient materials.
Concern for fertility and procreation, though not a necessary attribute of
female deities, is too general for one to be able to decide whether Aradwl
Sura Anahita owes this to Ishtar, * Anahita, or *HarahwatI. The truth may
be that it was common to all and hence facilitated the syncretism of the
Ardwisur Yasht.

Arddwl Sura Anahita (Aban) Yasht (Yasht 5)

I
1. Ahura Mazda said to Zarathushtra Spitama: On my account, worship
her, O Zarathushtra Spitama, Aradwl Sura Anahita who spreads
abroad, is healing, opposed to the daewas, a follower of ahuric doc-
trine, who is worthy to be worshipped by the material world (and)
worthy to be praised by the material world, who is a crop-increasing
ashawan, a herd-increasing ashawan, an ashawan who makes the coun-
try prosper,
2. who purifies the semen of all males, who purifies for conception the
wombs of all females, who gives easy delivery to all females, who gives
milk to all females regularly and at the proper time;
3. (worship her,) the vast, famed afar, who is as great as all these waters
which flow forth upon the earth, who forcefully flows forth from Mount
Hukairya to the Wouru.kasha sea.
4. All the shores of the Wouru.kasha sea surge, the whole middle surges
as Aradwl Sura Anahita flows along into it, as she streams along into it,
which has a thousand bays and a thousand outlets; and each of these
bays and each of these outlets is a forty days' ride for a man riding a
good horse.
5. And the outlet of this one water will spread out to all the seven
continents and (the outlet) of this one water flows down in summer and
winter alike.
She (Anahita) purifies the waters, the semen of males, the wombs of
females, (and) the milk of females,
6. whom I, Ahura Mazda, brought forth . . . ( ? ) for the prosperity of
house, settlement, clan and land, and for the protection, care, over-
sight, guarding, and surveillance (of these).
7. Then Aradwl Sura Anahita went away, O Zarathushtra, from the
Creator, Mazda. Very beautiful were (her) white arms stronger than a
horse's. Wearing beautiful sleeves, very strong in her arms, flowing,
she showed herself off, thinking this in her mind:
 Arddwi Sura Anahita I 121

8. Who will praise me? Who will worship (me) with purified, filtered
libations containing haoma and milk? Whom shall I, friendly (and)
agreeable, accompany for the sake of (his) . . . ( ? ) and cheerfulness?
9. On account of her rayi and glory, I shall worship her with audible
prayer, I shall worship her with well-recited prayer, Aradwl Sura Ana-
hita, with libations. Thus may you be directed by (this) invocation, thus
may you be better worshipped, O Aradwl Sura Anahita, with haoma
(mixed) with milk. . . . [Continue with Ny. 1.16 (p. 183).]
II
10. [Repeat st. 1.]
11. who, in front, drives (her) chariot, (who) holds the reins of the
chariot; riding in this chariot (and) yearning for a man, (she is) thinking
this in her mind: Who will worship (me). . . . [Continue with sts. 8-9.]
Ill
12. [Repeat st. 1.]
13. whose four draft animals, white, all of the same color (and) breed,
tall, overcome the hostilities of all enemies, of daewas and men, of
sorcerers and witches, of tyrants, kawis, and karapans.
On account of her rayi . . . [continue with st. 9].
IV
14. [Repeat st. 1.]
15. strong, regal, tall, beautiful, in whom flow down by day and by night
as many falling waters as all the waters which flow forth on the earth.
She who is strong flows forth!
On account of her rayi . . . [continue with st. 9].
V
16. [Repeat st. 1.]
17. He who is the Creator, Ahura Mazda, worshipped her in the Aryana
Waejah of the good Daitya with haoma (mixed) with milk, barosman,
skill of tongue and thought, with speech, action, libations, and correctly
uttered words.
18. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arsdwl Sura Anahita, that I may instigate the son of Pourushaspa,
righteous Zarathushtra, to think according to the (true) Religion, to
speak according to the (true) Religion, to act according to the (true)
Religion.
19. Aradwl Sura Anahita then granted him this boon, (she) who always
grants a boon to him who offers (her) libations, (who,) pious, worships
(and) entreats (her).
On account of her rayi . . . [continue with st. 9],
 722 / Arddwi Surd Anahita

VI
20. [Repeat st. 1.]
21. At the foot of Mount Kara, Paradhata Haoshyangha offered her one
hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and) ten thousand sheep.
22. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Aradwl Sura Anahita, that I may become the highest power over all the
countries, over daewas and men, over sorcerers and witches, over
tyrants, kawis, and karapans; that I may strike down two-thirds of the
daewas from Mazandaran and of the drugwants from Warana.
23. [Repeat st. 19.]
VII
24. [Repeat st. 1.]
25. Regal Yima, whose herds are good, offered her, before the peak of
Hukairya, one hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and) ten
thousand sheep.
26. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arsdwl Sura Anahita, that I may become the highest power over all the
countries, over daewas and men, over sorcerers and witches, over
tyrants, kawis, and karapans; that I may take from the daewas both
goods and profit, both flocks and herds, both contentment and renown.
27. [Repeat st. 19.]
VIII
28. [Repeat st. 1.]
29. Three-headed Azhi Dahaka offered her, in the country of Bavri, one
hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and) ten thousand sheep.
30. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Aradwl Sura Anahita, that I may make unpopulated all the seven conti-
nents.
31. Aradwl Sura Anahita did not grant him this boon.
On account of her rayi . . . [continue with st. 9].
IX
32. [Repeat st. 1.]
33. Thraetaona, the prince of the mighty house of Athvya, offered her,
in quadrangular(?) Warsna, one hundred stallions, one thousand cows,
and ten thousand sheep.
34. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arodwl Sura Anahita, that I may be victorious over Azhi Dahaka who
has three mouths, three heads, six eyes, a thousand perceptions, the
very powerful daewic liar, the evil deceiver of (?) the world, the most
 Aradwi Sura Andhita I 123

powerful liar which Angra Mainyu brought forth against the material
world to destroy the world of Truth; and may I drive away his two
wives Sanghawak and Aranawak who rise up with most beautiful
bodies for the household, those two who are most excellent.
35. [Repeat st. 19.]
X
36. [Repeat st. 1.]
37. Strong-willed Ksrasaspa offered her, within sight of lake Pishinah,
one hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and) ten thousand sheep.
38. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Aradwl Sura Anahita, that I may be victorious over Gandarava whose
heels are yellow; by the surging shores of the Wouru.kasha sea may I
storm the liar's strong house which (stands) on (this) broad, round
(earth) whose ends are distant.
39. [Repeat st. 19.]
XI
40. [Repeat st. 1.]
41. The Turanian scoundrel Frangrasyan offered her, in (his) cave in the
earth, one hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and) ten thousand
sheep.
42. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Aradwl Sura Anahita, that I may obtain that Xwaranah which is floating
in the middle of the Wouru.kasha sea, (and) which belongs to the Aryan
peoples born and unborn and to righteous Zarathushtra.
43. [Repeat st. 31.]
XII
44. [Repeat st. 1.]
45. Brave, mighty Kawi Usan offered her, on Mount 3razifya, one hun-
dred stallions, one thousand cows, (and) ten thousand sheep.
46. [Repeat st. 22, through " . . . karapans."]
47. [Repeat st. 19.]
XIII
48. [Repeat st. 1.]
49. The hero who consolidated (?) the power of the Aryan countries,
Haosrawah, offered her, within sight of the deep lake Caecasta35 with a
wide expanse of water, one hundred stallions, one thousand cows,
(and) ten thousand sheep.
50. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arodwi Sura Anahita, that I may become the highest power . . . [con-
 124 I Arddwi Surd Andhitd

tinue with st. 22 through ". . . karapans"]; that, of all the teams of
horses, I may be foremost to drive along the racecourse which is long.
Indeed, I shall not cut (?) the turning post (? with my chariot) when (?)
the scoundrel, Nsrsmanah, competes against me with (his) horses.
51. [Repeat st. 19.]
XIV
52. [Repeat st. 1.]
53. The brave warrior Tusa worshipped her at the manes of (his) horses,
requesting strength for (his) teams, health for himself, much watchful-
ness against enemies, the ability to overcome hostile, unfriendly oppo-
nents at a blow.
54. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arsdwl Sura Anahita, that I may be victorious over the brave sons of
Waesaka at the pass Xshathro.suka, the highest in the lofty, holy Kan-
gha range36; that I may strike down the Turanian peoples with one
hundred blows for (every fifty blows. . . . [Continue with Yt. 10.43
from " . . . and with one thousand blows" (p. 64).]
55. [Repeat st. 19.]
XV
56. [Repeat st. 1.]
57. The brave sons of Waesaka offered her, at the pass Xshathro.suka,
the highest in the lofty, holy Kangha range, one hundred stallions, one
thousand cows, (and) ten thousand sheep.
58. Then they entreated her: Grant us this boon, O good, most strong
Aradwl Sura Anahita, that we may be victorious over the brave warrior
Tusa; that we may strike down the Aryan peoples with one hundred
blows. . . . [Continue with Yt. 10.43 from ". . . for every (fifty)
blows" (p. 64).]
59. Aradwl Sura Anahita did not grant them this boon.
[Repeat st. 9.]
XVI
60. [Repeat st. 1.]
61. The clever boatman Paurwa worshipped her as brave victorious
Thraetaona caused him to fly up in the form of a vulture.
62. Thus he flew for three days (and) three nights in the direction of his
own house. He could not descend. At the end of the third night he came
to the dawn, to the lighting up of the early (dawn). At the dawn he
invoked Arsdwl Sura Anahita:
63. O Aradwi Sura Anahita, come immediately to help me! Bring me
assistance now! I shall bring you, at the Rangha river, one thousand
 Aradwi Sura Anahita I 125

purified, filtered libations containing haoma and milk if, living, I reach
the Ahum-created earth, the house which is my own.
64. Aradwi Sura Anahita flowed up to (him) in the form of a beautiful,
very strong maiden, well built, high girdled, erect, noble in respect to
(her) illustrious lineage, in shoes worn to the ankle with bright golden
laces.
65. She took hold of his arms. Soon it was, not long, that she hastily
restored (him) [to the Ahura-created earth, to his own house] just as
healthy and safe as before.
66. [Repeat st. 19.]
XVII
67. [Repeat st. 1.]
68. Jamaspa offered her, as he perceived far off the army of the daewa-
worshipping drugwants approaching in battle array, one hundred stal-
lions, one thousand cows (and) ten thousand sheep.
69. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arsdwl Sura Anahita, that I shall be attended by as great a victory as all
the other Aryans.
70. [Repeat st. 19.]
XVIII
71. [Repeat st. 1.]
72. Ashawazdah, the son of Pourudhaxshti, and Ashawazda and Thrita,
the sons of Sayuzhdri, offered her in the presence of (?) the lofty Ahura,
lordly, regal Apam Napat whose horses are swift, one hundred stal-
lions, one thousand cows, (and) ten thousand sheep.
73. Then they entreated her: Grant us this boon, O good, most strong
Arsdwl Sura Anahita, that we may be victorious over the challenging
Turanian Danu and over Kara Asabana and Wara Asabana and bravest
Duraekaeta, in the battles in this world.
74. Aradwl Sura Anahita then granted them, too, this boon. . . . [Con-
tinue with st. 19.]
XIX
75. [Repeat st. 1.]
76. Wistauru the Naotarid worshipped her at the WitahwaitI37 river,
with correctly uttered speech, with words speaking thus:
77. By this truth, by this correctly spoken (statement), O Arsdwl Sura
Anahita, (it is the case) that as many daewa worshippers have been
slain by me as I bear hairs on my head. So, you leave, O Arsdwl Sura
Anahita, a dry passage across good WitawhaitI for me!
 726 / Arddwi Sura Anahita
78. Aradwl Sura Anahita flowed up to (him) in the form of a beautiful,
very strong maiden, well built, high girdled, erect, noble in respect to
(her) illustrious lineage, dressed in golden shoes, who was completely
adorned, splendid. Some waters she made stand still, the others she
(made) flow onward. She left a dry passage across good Wltahwaiti.
79. [Repeat st. 19.]
XX
80. [Repeat st. 1.]
81. Yoishta, of the Fryanids, offered her, on the island Paitipa of the
Rangha, one hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and) ten thousand
sheep.
082. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Aradwl Sura Anahita, that I may be victorious over the evil-thinking,
tenebrous Axtya, and may I answer his ninety-nine difficult, malicious-
ly asked questions when the evil-thinking, tenebrous Axtya will ques-
tion me.
83. [Repeat st. 19.]
XXI
84. [Repeat st. 1.]
85. to whom beneficent Ahura Mazda spoke: Return, descend, O
Arsdwi Sura Anahita, from those stars to the Ahura-created earth! The
brave lords, the rulers of the countries, (and) the sons of the rulers of
the countries will worship you.
86. Also, brave men will entreat you for possession of swift horses and
for the superiority of (their) xwaranah. The athrawans who memorize
(and) the athrawan students will entreat you for wisdom as well as for
beneficent and ahura-given victoriousness and conquering superiority.
87. Maidens in marriageable position will ask you for generous estates
and for a strong householder. Young wives in labor will ask you for
easy childbirth. You, O Aradwl Sura Anahita, shall be able to grant
these (things) to them!
88. Then, O Zarathushtra, Aradwi Sura Anahita went away from those
stars to the ahura-created earth. Then Arsdwl Sura Anahita said:
89. O upright, righteous Spitamid, Ahura Mazda created you as ratu of
the material world; Ahura Mazda created me protectress of all ashawan
existence. Through my insight and xwarsnah, cattle and draft animals
graze about over the earth. And men with two feet . . .(?)!, indeed,
protect. . . (?) these, all the Mazda-created good stemming from Truth
as a stockyard (?) protects the livestock.
 Arddwi Surd Andhitd I 127

90. Zarathushtra asked her, Arodwl Sura Anahita: O Aradwl Sura Ana-
hita, with what prayer shall I worship you, with what prayer shall I
sacrifice in order that Mazda may make for you a course, not on this
side, (but) above the sun, so that the serpent(s) and the spiders and the
scorpions and the spiders and those poisonous spiders (?) may not
deceive you?
91. Then Arodwl Sura Anahita said: O upright, righteous Spitamid, you
should worship me with this prayer, sacrifice (to me) with this prayer
from sunrise to sunset. You may drink this libation of mine (as well as?)
the wise, skillful athrawans who have investigated the dictates and
interpreted the teachings, who (are) tanu.mathra.
92. Let not someone afflicted with . . . (?), nor a feverish person, nor a
eunuch (?), nor a . . .(?), nor an impotent person (?), nor a woman, nor
someone (who is) instructed (but) does not recite the Gathas, nor a
leper who has been isolated, consume this libation of mine!
93. I shall not be present at those libations which, (though dedicated) to
me, the blind and the deaf and the dumb and the foolish and the insane
and the epileptic consume: (that is,) those marked with the mark with
which, according to the thinking of everyone, those of much intelli-
gence are not marked. Let not a chicken-breasted person, nor a hunch-
back, nor a toothless drugwant drink any of this libation of mine!
94. Zarathushtra asked her, Arodwi Sura Anahita: O Aradwl Sura Ana-
hita, now what becomes of the libations to you when the daewa-
worshipping drugwants bring (them) to you after sunset?
95. Then Aradwl Sura Anahita said: O upright righteous Spitamid
Zarathushtra, the frightful (?), the . . . (?), the slanderous (daewa wor-
shippers) install themselves by these (libations) which (they bring) to
me after (sunset). They drive six hundred and a thousand (strong). . . .
(?)
96. I shall worship the golden Mount Hukairya, honored by all from
which Arsdwl Sura Anahita flows forth at the height of one thousand
men. She reigns over much xwaranah, as do all these rivers which flow
forth on the earth, she who, powerful, flows forth.
On account of her rayi . . . [continue with st. 9].
XXII
97. [Repeat st. 1.]
98. round whom stood the Mazda worshippers with barasman in their
hands. The Hwowids worshipped her; the Naotarids worshipped her.
The Hwowids asked for wealth; the Naotarids, for possession of swift
horses. Soon thereafter the Hwowids became the strongest in terms of
 128 I Ar9dwi Sura Anahita
wealth; soon thereafter the Naotarid, Wlshtaspa, came to possess the
swiftest horses of these countries.
99. [Repeat st. 74.]
XXIII
100. [Repeat st. 1.]
101. . . . which has one thousand bays and one thousand outlets; and
each of these bays and each of these outlets is a forty days' ride for a
man riding a good horse. At each outlet stands a well-built house,
splendid with one hundred windows, well-made with one thousand
columns, strong with ten thousand beams.
102. Moreover, in (each) house every couch for lying (on) is beautifully
spread out, perfumed, (and) provided with cushions.
Aradwl Sura Anahita, O Zarathushtra, flows at the height of one
thousand men. She reigns over as much xwaronah as all these rivers
which flow forth on the earth, she, (Arsdwl Sura Anahita,) who, being
powerful, flows forth.
XXIV
103. [Repeat st. 1.]
104. Righteous Zarathushtra worshipped her in the Aryan land of the
good Daitya with haoma (mixed) with milk. . . . [Continue with Ny.
1.16 (p. 183).]
105. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arsdwl Sura Anahita, that I may instigate the son of Aurwat.aspa,
brave Kawi Wlshtaspa, to think according to the (true) Religion, to
speak according to the (true) Religion, to act according to the (true)
Religion.
106. [Repeat st. 19.]
XXV
107. [Repeat st. 1.]
108. The highly intelligent Kawi Wlshtaspa offered her, within sight of
the river Frazdanu, one hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and)
ten thousand sheep.
109. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Arsdwi Sura Anahita, that I may be victorious over Tathryawant whose
religion is evil, and Pashana the daewa worshipper, and drugwant
Arajat.aspa in the battles in this world.
110. [Repeat st. 19.]
XXVI
111. [Repeat st. 1.]
112. Zairl.wari, the fighter on horseback, offered her, within sight of the
 Arddwi Sura Anahita I 129

waters of the Daitya, one hundred stallions, one thousand cows, (and)
ten thousand sheep.
113. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Aradwl Sura Anahita, that I may be victorious over the daewa worship-
per Humayaka with the extended claws (?), who possesses eight strong-
holds (?), and over the drugwant Arsjat.aspa in the battles in this world.
114. [Repeat st. 9.]
XXVII
115. [Repeat st. 1.]
116. Wandaramanish Arsjat.aspa offered her, at the Wouru.kasha sea,
one hundred stallions, one thousand cows, and ten thousand sheep.
117. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, O good, most strong
Argdwi Sura Anahita, that I may be victorious over brave Kawi Wish-
taspa (and) Zairi.wari the fighter on horseback, that I may smite down
the Aryan peoples with one hundred blows for (every) fifty blows. . . .
[Continue with Yt. 10.43 from " . . . and with one thousand blows" (p.
64).]
118. [Repeat st. 31.]
XXVIII
119. [Repeat st. 1.]
120. whose four stallions Ahura Mazda created: Wind, Rain, Clouds,
and Hail. By urinating (?), O Spitamid Zarathushtra, they let it rain,
snow, drizzle, and hail on her (?);
who has so many missiles—nine hundred and a thousand.
121. [Repeat st. 96.]
XXIX
122. [Repeat st. 1.]
123. Good Aradwl Sura Anahita stands, wearing a golden plastron,
yearning for the prayer at the libation, thinking this in her mind:
124. [Repeat sts. 8-9.]
XXX
125. [Repeat st. 1.]
126. who, Aradwl Sura Anahita, is wont to be seen in the form of a
beautiful, very strong maiden, well built, high girdled, erect, noble in
respect to (her?) illustrious lineage, dressed in a long-sleeved, much-
embroidered, golden coat.
127. Holding barssman in her hand in the correct way, showing off her
four-lobed golden earrings, Aradwl Sura Anahita of good birth is wont
to wear a necklace about her beautiful throat. She laces herself around
 130 I Aradwi Surd Anahita

the waist both so that (her) breasts (may be) well formed and so that
they swell out.
128. Above (on her head), Aradwl Sura Anahita binds a beautiful, well-
made, golden diadem (studded) with one hundred stars, (holding) eight
buns of hair (?), made like a chariot body, adorned with pennants,
having a prominent rim.
129. Aradwl Sura Anahita wears beaver clothes of thirty (male) beaver
which have (each) begotten four (young). [That is, the female beaver is
most beautiful because she is most dense-haired. The female beaver is
an aquatic animal.] Normally, at the appropriate time, replete with
silver and gold, the furs shine on the beholders.
130. Now then, O good, most powerful Arsdwl Sura Anahita, I ask for
this boon, that I, very beloved (to you?), may win great estates char-
acterized by abundant ripening (of the crops and) large shares, where
there are neighing horses, rattling wheels, (and) snaking whips, where
there is much to eat, where meats are stored up, where there are fra-
grant aromas. In the storage rooms I (?) have deposited, as far as one
could wish, copiously, all (things requisite) for a good life . . . (?).
131. Now, then, O good Aradwl Sura Anahita, I ask for two coursers,
for both a two-legged courser and a four-legged one; that two-legged
courser (is he) who should be swift when mounted, skilled at turning the
chariots forward in battles; that four-legged one (is he) who will rout
both flanks of the (hostile) army which has a broad front, both the left
and the right, and the right and the left.
132. On account of this worship, on account of this praise, return,
descend, O Aradwi Sura Anahita, from those stars to the Ahura-
created earth, to the worshipping zaotar, to the hand overflowing (with
libations), for help to the pious libation-offering worshipper, (you, who
are) the giver of a boon to one who asks, so that these heroes may
return victorious, like (those) of Kawi Wlshtaspa.

10. Ashi
Ashi is a goddess who personifies the concept of 'reward, recompense',
which is the meaning of her name. As an appellative, ashi is employed in
both Gathic and Young Avestan to indicate both favorable and unfavor-
able recompense for one's actions, depending, of course, on the moral
quality of such actions. As a goddess Ashi is, for the most part, consid-
ered to be only 'Good Reward' (ashi wanghwi), and, as her Yasht makes
 As hi I 131

clear, her area of concern is the good things of life, especially domestic
felicities. Because of this her Yasht contains a treasure of information on
the ancient Iranian conception of the ideal household.
Ashi's genealogy is carefully spelled out. She is Ahura Mazda's and
Spanta Armaiti's daughter; the sister of the Amgsha Spantas and the
Mazdean religion; her brother is Sraosha. These family connections,
together with the sensuous description of her infatuation with Zarathush-
tra (sts. 21-22), show how deeply her worship must have been rooted in
Zarathushtrianism.
Although some scholars have seen in her a mere colorless, abstract
deity (like the Amssha Spantas) whose being acquired flesh and blood
through wholesale borrowings from others, particularly Aradwl Sura
Anahita, it is hard to reconcile this view with the vividly individual picture
of her as she is portrayed in the Avesta. While some borrowing must have
occurred, her individuality is unimpaired. One might even go so far as to
question whether Aradwi Sura Anahita has not also borrowed from her.
Like Anahita, Ashi is mounted on a chariot and, like Anahita, she is
concerned with human fertility. There are significant differences between
them, however. It should especially be emphasized that Ashi is preoccu-
pied with human sexuality. Whereas Arsdwl Sura Anahita forbids people
with a variety of deformities and diseases to participate in her worship,
Ashi excludes only those who are sexually dysfunctional. Ashi's promo-
tion of sexual potency is, furthermore, restricted to situations in which
sexuality may be legitimately exercised. A most curious myth is that
found in sts. 55-56. The Naotarids were the clan of Zarathushtra's patron
WIshtaspa; the Turanians were the barbarians. One might perhaps think
of ritual contest involving a search for Ashi by children; but, in any case,
the meaning is totally obscure.

Ashi (Ard) Yasht (Yasht 17)

I
1. We worship good Ashi (who is) regal, tall, beautiful, good to be
worshipped, whose (chariot) wheels hum, powerful, who bestows
profit, who is curative, who has broad insight, (is) strong,
2. the daughter of Ahura Mazda, the sister of the Amssha Spantas, who
by reason of (her) insight drives forth before all the Saoshyants,
And she bestows, at her pleasure, innate insight upon him, and she
comes to help him who invokes (her) both close by and at a distance.
He who shall worship Ashi with libations shall worship Mithra with
libations.
3. On account of her rayi and glory, I shall worship her with audible
 132 I Ashi

prayer; I shall worship her with properly performed worship, good

Ashi, with libations.
We worship good Ashi with haoma (mixed) with milk. . . . [Continue
withNy. 1.16 (p. 183).]
II
4. [Repeat st. 1.]
5. Homage to Haoma and to the Mathra and to righteous Zarathushtra!
[Even so, homage to Haoma, since all other intoxicants are accompa-
nied by Wrath with the bloody cudgel; but the intoxication which is
Haoma's is accompanied by Truth itself.]
6. O good Ashi, O beautiful Ashi, O radiant Ashi, shining joyfully with
(your) rays! O Ashi, (you who) give good fortune to these men whom
you accompany!
The house becomes sweet-smelling in which good, strong Ashi sets
(her) feet, agreeably minded for a long succession (of descendants).
7. Those men whom you accompany, good Ashi, govern estates where
there is much to eat, where meats are stored up, where there are fra-
grant aromas, in which there are a spread-out couch and other valued
possessions.
Hail (to him) whom you accompany!
And (she,) powerful (and) manifold (?), accompanies me.
8. The houses of those whom you accompany, good Ashi, stay well
constructed (?), rich in cattle foremost for long support.
Hail (to him). . . . [Continue with st. 7.]
9. The couches of those whom you accompany, good Ashi, stay nicely
spread, sweetly perfumed, well prepared, provided with cushions, with
legs laced with gold.
Hail (to him). . . . [Continue with st. 7.]
10. The respected wives of those whom you accompany, good Ashi, are
wont to sit on beautiful couches provided with cushions, grooming
themselves, decorating (their clothing) with clasps, displaying four-
lobed (golden) earrings and gold-adorned necklaces, (thinking to them-
selves), "When will the master of the house come to us? When shall we
joyfully enjoy (his) dear body?"
Hail (to him). . . . [Continue with st. 7.]
11. The maidens of those whom you accompany, good Ashi, sit with
. . . ( ? ) feet, binding their waists, with active bodies (and) long fingers.
[The bodies (?) of such (girls?) are of (such) beauty that (they are) a
pleasure for those who watch (them)].
Hail (to him). . . . [Continue with st. 7.]
 Ashi I 133

12. The horses of those whom you accompany, good Ashi, inspire fear;
swift, snorting impetuously, they pull the fast chariot, strain at the
leather; they convey the brave praiser (?) whose horses are swift,
whose chariot is sturdy, whose spears are sharp and have long shafts,
the far-shooting archer, pursuing the enemy from behind, slaying the
foe in front.
Hail (to him). . . . [Continue with st. 7.]
13. The firm-humped, very spirited camels of those whom you accom-
pany, good Ashi, inspire fear when in rut, fighting with each other they
rise up (?) from the ground.
Hail (to him). . . . [Continue with st. 7.]
14. A merchant brings silver and gold in a cask (?) from foreign lands
and splendid tailored (?) clothes to those whom you accompany, good
Ashi.
Hail (to him). . . . [Continue with st. 7.]
15. Look away from me, (but) turn your grace toward me, tall Ashi!
You are well created (?) (and) of good lineage. You are able to give
xwaranah to (my) body, according to (your) desire.
16. Your father is Ahura Mazda, the greatest of gods, the best of gods.
(Your) mother, Spanta Armaiti.
Your brother is good Sraosha the companion of Ashi [and powerful
lofty Rashnu and Mithra of wide pastures who has ten thousand spies
(and) a thousand ears].
Your sister is the Mazdean Religion.
17. Good Ashi who is tall takes her stand as a charioteer, worthy to be
praised by the gods, immovable from the straightest (paths), speaking
with words: Who are you who invoke me whose voice is the very best I
have heard among those who invoke me?
18. Thereupon he spoke out: (I am) Zarathushtra the Spitamid, who was
the first man to praise Asha Wahishta, to worship Ahura Mazda, to
worship the Amssha Spantas, at whose birth and growth the plants and
waters recovered, at whose birth and growth the plants and waters
grew,
19. at whose birth and growth Angra Mainyu fled the broad round earth
whose ends are distant. Thus, evil Angra Mainyu, full of destruction,
muttered: All the gods could not drag (?) me forth against my will, but
Zarathushtra alone drove me away against my will.
20. He smites me with the Ahuna wairya, so great a weapon as a stone
the size of a house. He scorches me with the Asha wahishta, as it were
with molten metal. The Spitamid Zarathushtra who alone banished me
made it better for me to abandon this earth.
 134 I Ashi

21. Then tall, good Ashi spoke thus: Draw nearer to me, O upright,
righteous Spitamid. Lean against my chariot.
The Spitamid Zarathushtra drew nearer to her. He leaned against her
chariot.
22. Then she caresses him with her left arm and her right, with her right
arm and her left, speaking thus with words: You are beautiful, O
Zarathushtra; you are handsome, O Spitamid—with beautiful calves
and long arms. You have been granted glory for your body and long-
(lasting) well-being for your soul, in so much as I have (now) pro-
claimed this to you.
On account of her rayi . . . [Continue with st. 3.]
Ill
23. [Repeat st. 1.]
24. At the foot of beautiful, Mazda-created Mount Hara, Haoshyangha
Paradhata worshipped her.
25. Then he entreated her: Grant me this boon, good tall Ashi, that I
may be victorious over all the daewas from Mazandaran, so that, fright-
ened, I may not out of terror flee before the daewas, (rather) may all the
daewas, unwilling, frightened, flee before me; frightened may they run
into darkness.
26. Good tall Ashi circled (him), she went around (him). Haoshyangha
Paradhata obtained the boon.
On account of her rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
27-52. (A suppliant list which includes Yima, Thraetaona, Haoma,
Haosrawah, Zarathushtra, and Wishtaspa.)
X
53. [Repeat st. 1.]
54. Then good tall Ashi said: Let not any (of the following) have a share
of these libations of mine which (men) bring to me: neither a man whose
semen is obstructed, nor a woman past (the age of) menstruation, nor a
prepubescent boy, nor a girl who has not been approached (sexually) by
men.
55. When the Turanians and the swift-horsed Naotarids frightened me,
then I concealed myself under the foot of a . . . (?) bull. Then they
drove me out of hiding—the prepubescent boys, the girls who have not
been approached (sexually) by men.
56. When also the Turanians and the swift-horsed Naotarids frightened
me, then too I concealed myself under the neck of a sheep, of a ram
with a hundred . . . (?). Then too they drove me out of hiding—the
 Sraosha I 135

prepubescent boys, the girls who have not been approached (sexually)
by men.
57. Tall, good Ashi lamented (with her) first lament in respect to the
woman who has not given birth to a son: Do not frequent her house, do
not lie down on her couch! What am I to do with her? Should I go forth
to the vault of heaven? Should I turn back to the earth?
58. Tall, good Ashi lamented (with her) second lament in respect to that
woman who bears that son sired by (her) husband (but) bears (him) for
another man: What am I to do with her? Should I go forth to the vault of
heaven? Should I turn back to the earth?"
59. Tall, good Ashi lamented (with her) third lament: This is, for me, the
most awful deed (which) terrible men carry out, that they abduct un-
married girls. [They rape (them).] What am I to do with them? Should I
go forth to the vault of heaven? Should I turn back to the earth?
60. Then Ahura Mazda said: O beautiful Ashi created by the Creator, do
not go forth to the vault of heaven, do not turn back to the earth! Here,
walk around the interior part of my beautiful, royal house.
61. I shall worship you with this rite, I shall pay you worship with this
rite as Wishtaspa worshipped you in sight of the river Daitya. The
zaotar should raise (his) voice high, standing behind the barssman. I
shall worship you with this rite, I shall pay you worship with this rite, o
beautiful Ashi created by the Creator.
On account of her rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].

11. Sraosha
Sraosha is a deity who, at least from the time of Zarathushtra, has played
an important role in Iranian religion. His worship was so deep-rooted in
Iranian religious custom that he survived Islam to continue in an altered
state as the angel Surosh. He is also the only deity to have two Yashts
dedicated to him, namely Yasna 57 and Yasht 11 (Srosh Yasht Hadhoxt).
He name itself, derived from the verb 'to hear' (sru-), means something
like 'obedience, discipline'. Unlike many abstract deities who, like the
Amssha Spsntas, have quite empty personalities, god Obedience is a
flesh-and-blood figure of some complexity.
Sraosha does not appear in the Gathas as an Amssha Spsnta, but is
closely allied with them. In Yasna 33, for example, Zarathushtra contrasts
Disobedience (asrushti) and Evil Mind (st. 4) with "Obedience which is
 136 I Sraosha

greatest of all" (wispa.mazishtam sdraosham) and Good Mind (st. 5); or,
again, in Y. 33.14, he mentions Sraosha in connection with Dominion and
Truth. But whereas he remains definitely an abstraction for Zarathushtra*
in the Younger Avesta he takes on a very different aspect. We have
already remarked how empty Ahura Mazda and especially the Amgsha
Spsntas are in the post-Gathic literature. The fact that Sraosha dramati-
cally gains substance has led to the suspicion that he was already an
important deity of the popular religion outside Zarathushtrian circles.
Were this the case, Zarathushtra evidently assumed him into his own
system by stripping him of his various attributes, which did not harmonize
with Zarathushtra's generally abstract mode of thought.
Recently, Boyce has made the attractive suggestion that Sraosha may
somehow be connected with the Vedic deity Brhaspati (also known as
Brahamanaspati).38 While not going so far as to claim a generic rela-
tionship, she has brought to light a striking number of structural parallels
between the two. One of Sraosha's primary functions is his mastery of
prayer and sacrifice. Indeed, his role as an intermediary between man and
the divine via prayer is what perpetuated his veneration into Iranian
Islam. Now, it is mastery over prayer that is the defining characteristic of
Brhaspati, whose name means 'Lord of Prayer or Sacred Rite' (brh-,
brahman-). Like Sraosha, Brhaspati opposes the particularly demonic
forces. Whereas most Vedic gods combat demons by force of arms,
Brhaspati, often in concert with the Angirases (see p. 105), employs the
magic power of song to destroy his enemies. In Iranian religion, even
though Sraosha does wield his terrible, bladed club, his distinctive
weapon is sacred speech (mathra). He is also the first divine ritualist. A
further interesting similarity is that both Brhaspati and Sraosha are close-
ly allied with the war gods Indra and Mithra. One might well suppose that
Sraosha's martial traits derive from his association with Mithra.
There are, however, important points of difference between Sraosha
and Brhaspati. Brhaspati is, in the opinion of many scholars, a creation of
the priestly caste and as such appears to manifest the concerns of only
this elite class. Sraosha, on the contrary, was deeply rooted in popular
piety. He is singled out as the youthful protector of the poor, women, and
defenseless people in general. As well as being a demon slayer, protector
of the defenseless, and intermediary, he is a constant companion of the
goddess Ashi (Reward). His standing epithet is ashya, which means 'con-
nected with Ashi, i.e., companion, friend of Ashi'. Since rewards can be
realized in both this world and the next, Sraosha became, in later Zoroas-
trianism, the guide of the soul of the deceased on its journey across the
Cinwat bridge. Together with Mithra and Rashnu, he also came to serve
as judge of the dead.
 Sraosha I 137

Sraosha (Srosh) Yasht

Yasna 57
I
1. [Omitted.]
2. We worship Sraosha, the companion of Ashi, handsome, victorious,
world-promoting, the righteous ratu of Truth, who as the first in the
creation (?) of Mazda, at the spread barasman worshipped Ahura Maz-
da, worshipped the Amasha Spantas, worshipped the Protector and
Creator (Thvorsshtar) who both created all the creatures.
3. On account of his rayi and glory, on account of his power and victo-
riousness, on account of his worship of the gods, I shall worship him,
Sraosha, the companion of Ashi, with libations, and (also I shall
worship) good tall Ashi and handsome Nairya Sangha.
May victorious Sraosha the companion of Ashi come to help us!
4. [Omitted.]
II
5. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth,
6. who first strewed barasman—three sticks and five sticks and seven
sticks and nine sticks—up to the knees, [up to the middle of the legs,]
for the worship, praise, propitiation, and proclaiming of the Amssha
Spantas.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].
Ill
7. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth,
8. who first recited the five Gathas of righteous Zarathushtra the Spita-
mid, line by line, stanza by stanza, together with commentary, together
with the interpretation, for the worship, praise, propitiation, proclaim-
ing of the Amasha Spsntas.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].
IV
9. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth,
10. who constructs a strong house for the poor man and woman after
sunset, who smites Wrath with (his) devastating weapon, (inflicting) a
gory wound, and then beats (him) to death (by) smashing his head, just
as the strong (beats) the weaker.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].
 138 I Sraosha

V
11. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth, brave, swift, powerful, bold, strong, of high
intelligence,
12. who returns from all battles triumphant to the assembly of the
Amasha Spsntas.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-^].
VI
13. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth, the strongest of youths, the bravest of youths,
the most vigorous of youths, the swiftest of youths, the most feared,
(even) at a distance, of youths.
O Mazdeans, zealously pursue the worship of Sraosha the compan-
ion of Ashi!
14. Far from this house, far from this settlement, far from this clan, far
from this country go evil calamities, famines—in whose house victo-
rious Sraosha the companion of Ashi is satiated (with food) (and) re-
ceived hospitably and the righteous man who is predominantly char-
acterized by good thoughts, good speech, (and) good deeds.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3-4].
VII
15. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth, who is the victor over the kayadha, who is the
victor over the kaidhya, who is the slayer of the very powerful, life-
destroying daewic Lie, who is the guardian and overseer of the prosper-
ity (?) of the entire world
16. who, not falling asleep, wakeful, protects Mazda's creatures; who,
not falling asleep, wakeful, watches over Mazda's creatures; who pro-
tects the entire material world with upraised weapon after sunset;
17. who has not gone to sleep since the two Spirits, both the Beneficent
Spirit and the Evil, created (their) creations, watching over the world of
Truth; who battles every day and night with the daewas from Mazanda-
ran.
18. He does not flee, frightened, out of terror, from the daewas. Unwill-
ing, all the daewas, afraid, flee from him; afraid, they race into the
darkness.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].
VIII
19. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
 Sraosha I 139

righteous ratu of Truth, whom radiant, curative, beautiful, imperial,

yellow-eyed Haoma worshipped on the highest peak, on the high
HaraitI,
20. whose speech is good, whose speech is protecting, whose speech is
musical (?), who has mastery over knowledge of all sorts which has
much understanding (?) and over pre-eminence in the (sacred) Word.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].

IX
21. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth, whose victorious thousand-pillared house is
built on the highest peak, on the high HaraitI, self-illumined on the
inside, star-studded on the outside,
22. whom the Ahuna wairya serves as (his) victorious weapon, and the
Yasna HaptahvaitI (Y. 35-41) and the victorious Fshusho Mathra (Y.
58) and all the sacrificial acts.
On account of his rayi . , . [continue with sts. 3-4].

X
23. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth, through whose strength and victoriousness and
knowledgeableness and wisdom the Amasha Spantas came down to the
earth containing the seven continents; who (Sraosha) is the religion
teacher of the Religion.
24-26. [Omitted.]
XI
27. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth, whom four white, light, shining (?), beneficent,
wise, shadowless, supernatural racehorses drive—their horny hooves
are adorned with gold.
28. (The racehorses are) faster than (two other) horses, faster than two
winds, faster than two rains, faster than two clouds, faster than two
winged birds, faster than two well-shot (arrows) being shot.
29. who (i.e., the four horses) catch up with all those whom they
chase—they are not caught from behind—who, with both weapons,
arrive at their destination drawing good Sraosha the companion of Ashi
(in his chariot).
Even if he is at the eastern river he is seized, even if he is at the
western (river) he is struck down.39
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].
 140 I Sraosha

XII
30. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth, who, tall, high-girdled, installs(?) himself in
Mazda's creation;
31. who, thrice on the same day or on the same night, descends to this
continent, shining Xwaniratha, holding in his hand his weapon sharp at
the blade, easily wielded at the head(s) of daewas,
32. in order to smite Angra Mainyu the liar, in order to smite Wrath with
the horrible club, in order to smite the daewas from Mazandaran, in
order to smite all the daewas.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].
XIII
33. We worship Sraosha, handsome, victorious, world-promoting, the
righteous ratu of Truth. Both here and elsewhere, both here and over
the entire earth, (we worship) all (the conquests?) of Sraosha, compan-
ion of Ashi, brave, tanu.mathra, brave, valorous, strong in his arms,
the warrior, smiter of daewas' heads, winning conquests, [who has won
(many) conquests], righteous; and we worship Conquering Superiority,
which belongs to Sraosha companion of Ashi and which belongs to god
Justice.
34. We worship all the houses protected by Sraosha where dear, be-
loved Sraosha, companion of Ashi, is received hospitably and where
the righteous man is prodominantly characterized by good thought,
good speech, (and) good deeds.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with sts. 3-4].

12. Tishtrya
Despite the relative wealth of information furnished by Yasht 8, the deity
to whom it pertains remains, in many respects, something of a mystery.
He has no immediately apparent counterpart in the Rgveda, nor is any
trace of him to be found in Old Iranian religion outside of the Avesta. In
the Pahlavi books he is frequently confused with another astral deity, TIr,
but sometimes, in astrological texts, he is pitted against TIr as his
archenemy. He is normally identified as the star Sirius, yet the myth of his
conflict with Apaosha, involving his ability to provide the earth with
water, contradicts such an identification. Even the etymology of his name
 Tishtrya I 141

is problematic. Before attempting to delineate the problems, it might be

well to begin with what is clear from the Avesta.
Tishtrya is a bright star (st. 2). One would suppose that he is among the
brightest of stars, since he was appointed "ratu and overseer of all the
stars" (st. 44) by Ahura Mazda. What especially distinguishes Tishtrya is
that he is one of the stars "of watery nature" (afsh.cithrd), that is, one of
the stars responsible for bringing water, mainly in the form of rain, to the
earth. Moreover, he is the strongest of these stars (st. 45). His mythology
concerns itself primarily with various aspects of hydrology. It is clear
from the Yasht that Tishtrya is not what the phenomenology of religion
would classify as an atmospheric storm god. His yearly arrival or rising
occasions the storm-producing forces, but it is not Tishtrya himself, it
would seem, who is the actual rain bringer. His battles with the evil
powers who would prevent rain merely establish the proper conditions for
the production of rain.
In order to better understand Tishtrya's mode of operation, one must
first examine some of the cosmological notions involved. In sect. 9 under
Aradwl Sura Anahita, I discussed the significance of the cosmic sea or
lake Wouru.kasha. In the Tishtrya Yasht, the heavenly river is nowhere
mentioned as the replenisher of water to the sea, yet Woru.kasha con-
tinues to function as the source of earthly river water, now releasing
water at the instigation of Tishtrya and his deputy Satawaesa (st. 9).
Recall that Aradwi Sura Anahita descends from the peak of the cosmic
mountain towering into the sphere of the stars, down to Wouru.kasha.
Tishtrya both descends into and rises from Wouru.kasha; and when he
rises again, together with Satawaesa, it is with the "mist," that is, the
water evaporating from the raging sea. The mist rises from a Mount
Us.handawa (apparently part of the Alburz) where presumably it is trans-
formed into the clouds, which, conveyed thence by the bold Wind, bring
rain and hail to the places inhabited by mankind.
Before the process of cloud production can begin, Tishtrya must do
battle with various demons: Apaosha (Nonprosperity), as well as a host of
shooting stars identified as witches (pairika), among whom is Duzhyairya
(Bad Crop) (sts. 51-55). The battle with Apaosha along the shores of
Wouru.kasha is a unique sort of myth. The astral deity Tishtrya, assuming
his third transmutation, the white horse, fights a hideous horse (also an
astral deity). First the tide of battle runs in Apaosha's favor, but then,
after worship has been offered by Ahura Mazda, it turns in Tishtrya's
favor. One cannot help but be struck by the ritual nature of the myth. The
outcome of the myth, enacted yearly, is explicitly linked to Tishtrya's
worship. The specification that in the successive combats the one horse
drives the other the length of a racecourse, that is, half the circuit, arouses
 142 I Tishtrya

the suspicion that one is dealing with a ritual race or contest of some sort
involving one complete circuit of a racecourse.
Having established that Tishtrya is a star responsible for the initiation
of the process of rainmaking and in general for replenishing water, and
who, accordingly, is considered essential for good crops and thriving
livestock, one must now consider some problems. In reality, the problems
have their source in the question of his identity. While it is generally
agreed that Tishtrya is to be identified as Sirius, it is equally agreed that
Sirius is highly ill suited as a bringer of rain, since his heliacal rising would
have occurred at the time of greatest seasonal drought. It may be possible
to find a solution to this dilemma in the fact that in the Pahlavi books he is
often either confused with or placed in direct opposition to Tlr, who is
sometimes Sirius, sometimes the planet Mercury. Although Tlr is not
mentioned in the Avesta (unless in the uncertain name Tiro.nakathva), his
Old Iranian credentials are insured by the preservation of his name in a
common proper name *TIridata (Gr Tipi8aTT)<;, Elam Ti-ri-da-da, Ace
Ti-ri-da-a-ta). On a unique coin of the Kushan king Huvishka there occurs
a defective legend, which some, since Stein, have read TEIPO, but which
is better read as MEIPO. Thus, in the absence of any eastern Iranian
reflexes of the name, one is tempted to surmise that Tiri was a popular
western Iranian astral deity (like Anahita). If this is so, one may postulate
that Tishtrya was a prominent eastern Iranian astral deity. Now, a strik-
ing, though not entirely unique, feature of the Tishtrya Yasht is its relent-
less propaganda in support of Tishtrya's worship (sts. 15, 17, 19; 23-25;
57-61). The redactors of the text were obviously anxious to promote the
cult of Tishtrya either because Tishtrya was a "pagan" deity who re-
quired admittance into the orthodox religion, or—and I suspect this to be
more likely—because Tishtrya's cult stood in need of promotion. I have
already shown that Arsdwl Sura Anahita is a syncretistic deity in the
Avesta. If one supposes that, in a similar way, Avestan Tishtrya is a
syncretistic deity composed of two originally distinct astral deities, one
can explain not only why his cult needed propagandizing, but also why
there exists the dilemma of his identification. The question requiring res-
olution is, which deity, Tishtrya or Tiri, was Sirius and which was a star
appropriate to his principal function?
In recent years, Forssman has put forth a cogent argument in favor of
the old identification of Tishtrya with the Vedic astral deity Tisya.40
According to his etymology, Tisya (<*Tistriya) and Tishtrya mean '(the
star) related to the three stars' (*tri-strom). Because of both Tisya's and
Tishtrya's association with archery (Yt. 8.6), and on the authority of the
Indie evidence, Forssman makes a strong case for the "Three Stars"
 Tishtrya I 143

being those of Orion's belt. If the argument is valid, then TIri will have to
have been a star other than Sirius.
Scholars have noted that Tishtrya's three forms (young man, steer, and
horse) are also avataras of Warsthraghna (see sect. 5), a fact that may
betray a borrowing on the part of Tishtrya. While one could imagine this
for the first two, it is difficult to accept the horse manifestation as anything
but original to his character. Now that the etymology of Tishtrya's oppo-
nent Apaosha has been established, it is clear that the older connection of
the latter (as *Apavrta) with Vedic Vrtra is in error. Thus, Tishtrya's
myth is unparalleled in Indo-Iranian religion in presenting a unique
approach to problems of hydrology.

Tishtrya (Tishtar) Yasht (Yasht 8)

I
1. Ahura Mazda said to Zarathushtra the Spitamid: Attend to the office
of ahu and the office of ratu.
We worship the Moon and the abode and the sacrificial food offering.
I shall worship with libations the star Tishtrya the allotter of (one's)
land, so that the glorious, opulent stars and foremost the Moon will
assist me; [they allot xwaranah to men.]
2. We worship the glorious, opulent star Tishtrya who provides peaceful
dwelling places, good dwelling places, who is white, bright, clear, shin-
ing, curative, fast-snorting, exalted, shining from afar with bright im-
maculate rays of light; and (we worship) the water Psrothuzrayah41 and
the far-famed Wanghwl42 and the Mazda-created name of the Cow and
the mighty Kawyan Xwarsnah and the frawashi of righteous Zarathush-
tra the Spitamid.
3. On account of his rayi and glory, I shall worship him with audible
worship, the star Tishtrya, with libations.
We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya with haoma (mixed)
with milk. . . . [Continue with Ny. 1.16 (p. 183).]
II
4. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya containing the seed of
water, the strong, exalted, powerful, far-seeing, whose ability is supe-
rior, the exalted one from whom (comes) renown—from Apam Napat
(comes his?) lineage.
Ill
5. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya for whom cattle and
draft animals yearn, and (also) men who formerly committed acts of
 144 I Tishtrya

violence, and astrologers (?) who formerly lied, saying: When will opu-
lent, glorious Tishtrya rise for us? When will the springs of water stout-
er than a horse flow anew?
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
IV
6. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya who flies as swiftly to
the Wouru.kasha sea as the supernatural arrow which the archer
irsxsha, the best archer of the Iranians, shot from Mount Airyo.-
xshutha to Mount Xwanwant.43
7. Then Ahura Mazda, the Creator, who lets the waters fall (?), blew
upon (?) it [and plants]. Mithra of wide pastures prepared for him a path
around.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
V
8. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya who overcomes the
witches, who defeats the witches which, as shooting stars, fly between
earth and heaven. Regularly he comes to the righteous bay, (called)
"Horse-Shaped," in the mighty, beautiful, deep sea Wouru.kasha with
wide expanses of water, and makes those waters surge; and the turbu-
lent winds blow upon (it).
9. Then Satawaesa sets the waters of the seven continents in motion.
When he conies at the loosing (?) (of the waters) he stands, beautiful,
bringing peace (and) a good crop to the countries. When will the Aryan
countries have a good crop?
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
VI
10. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya who said to Ahura
Mazda, saying thus: O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator
of the material world, righteous,
11. if, indeed, men would worship me with worship wherein (my) name
is spoken, as the other gods are worshipped with worship wherein
(their) names are spoken, I would go forth to the righteous men for the
duration of a definite period; (for the duration) of a definite (period) of
my own radiant immortal life I would go unto (righteous men), for one
night, or two, or fifty.
12. We worship Tishtrya; and we worship the Tishtryaeinis; and we
worship (the star) Upa.paoiri; and we worship the Paoiryaenls; those
stars which (compose) Hspto.iringa (we worship) for the resisting of
sorcerers and witches. We worship the Mazda-created star Wanant for
 Tishtrya I 145

well-built Strength, for Ahura-created Victoriousness, for conquering

Superiority, for the ability to overcome trouble, and to overcome enmi-
ty. We worship Tishtrya whose eyes are healthy.
13. During the first ten nights, O Zarathushtra Spitamid, opulent, glo-
rious Tishtrya, driving among the (celestial) lights, blends (his) form
with the form of a regal, clear-eyed, tall, aggressive, powerful fifteen-
year-old man, manifesting his youthful strength,
14. —then at the (time) of life when a man first receives the girdle; then
at the (time) of life when first a man goes about endowed with great
physical strength; then at the (time) of life when a man first attains
sexual potency.
15. He speaks here in the assembly; here he asks: Who will worship me
now with libations containing milk (and) haoma? To whom shall I give
wealth in men [a troop of men] and purification of his own soul? Now I
am to be worshipped and praised by the material world according to the
Best Truth.
16. During the second ten nights, O Zarathushtra Spitamid, opulent,
glorious Tishtrya, driving among the (celestial) lights, blends (his) form
with the form of a golden-horned steer.
17. He speaks here in the assembly; here he asks: Who will worship me
now with libations containing milk (and) haoma? To whom shall I give
wealth in cattle [a herd of cattle] and purification of his own soul? Now
I am to be worshipped and praised by the material world according to
the Best Truth.
18. During the third ten nights, O Zarathushtra Spitamid, opulent, glo-
rious Tishtrya, driving among the (celestial) lights, blends (his) form
with the form of a beautiful white horse with yellow ears (and) a golden
bridle.
19. He speaks here in the assembly; here he asks: Who will worship me
now with libations containing milk (and) haoma? To whom shall I give
wealth in horses [a herd of horses] and purification of his own soul?
Now I am to be worshipped and praised by the material world accord-
ing to the Best Truth.
20. Then opulent glorious Tishtrya, O Zarathushtra Spitamid, comes up
to the Wouru.kasha sea in the form of a beautiful white horse with
yellow ears (and) a golden bridle.
21. Then out against him rushes the daewa Apaosha, in the form of a
black horse, cropped, with cropped ears, cropped, with cropped mane,
cropped, with cropped tail, completely denuded, inspiring horror.
22. They both, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, opulent, glorious Tishtrya and
 146 I Tishtrya

the daewa Apaosha, grapple with each other; for three days (and) three
nights, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, they fight. Then the daewa Apaosha
overpowers him, then defeats him, opulent, glorious Tishtrya.
23. Thereupon, he (Apaosha) drives him (Tishtrya) away from the
Wouru.kasha sea along a path the length of a racecourse. Opulent,
glorious Tishtrya calls down woe and adversity upon himself: Woe to
me, O Ahura Mazda! Adversity, O Waters and Plants! Misfortune, 0
Mazdean Religion! Men do not now worship me with worship wherein
(my) name is spoken, as they worship other gods with worship wherein
(their) names are spoken.
24. If, indeed, men were to worship me with worship wherein (my)
name is spoken, as they worship other gods with worship wherein
(their) names are spoken, I would procure for myself the strength often
horses, the strength often camels, the strength often oxen, the strength
often mountains, the strength often channel waters.
25. I, Ahura Mazda, worship opulent, glorious Tishtrya with worship
wherein (his) name is spoken. I procure for him the strength of ten
horses, the strength often camels, the strength often oxen, the strength
often mountains, the strength often channel waters.
26. [Repeat st. 20.]
27. [Repeat st. 21.]
28. They both, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, opulent, glorious Tishtrya and
the daewa Apaosha, grapple with each other; they fight, O Zarathush-
tra, at noon time. Then opulent, glorious Tishtrya overpowers, then he
defeats the daewa Apaosha.
29. Thereupon he (Tishtrya) drives him (Apaosha) away from the
Wouru.kasha sea along a path the length of a racecourse. Opulent,
glorious Tishtrya calls down well-being upon himself: Hail to myself, O
Ahura Mazda! Hail, O Waters and Plants! Hail, O Mazdean Religion!
There shall be weal, O Countries! Henceforth the crops of big-seeded
grains and of small-seeded grasses and (the crops) of the material world
will come up unhindered for you.
30. [Repeat st. 20.]
31. He makes the sea surge on; he makes the sea surge away; he makes
the sea rage on; he makes the sea rage away. He makes the sea flow on;
he makes the sea flow away.
All the shores of the Wouru.kasha sea surge; the entire middle
surges.
32. At that time, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, opulent, glorious Tishtrya
rises from the Wouru.kasha sea. Thereupon opulent, glorious Sa-
 Tishtrya I 147

tawaesa shall rise from the Wouru.kasha sea. Then the mists rise to-
gether from mount Us.handawa which stands in the middle of the
Wouru.kasha sea.
33. Then (Satawaesa?) drives forth the cloud-producing righteous mists.
The east wind drives along the path on which radiant, life-promoting
Haoma comes. Then the bold Mazda-created Wind brings rain and
clouds and hail to the dwellings and settlements (and) to the seven
continents.
34. Apam Napat allots to the material (world) the waters allotted to the
settlements, O Spitamid Zarathushtra. And the bold Wind and the
Xwaranah placed in the waters and the Frawashis of the Righteous . . .
VII
35. We worship the glorious, opulent star Tishtrya who thence will fly
forth from shining Dawn on the path whose turning point is distant, on
the god-ordained course, at the appointed time at the pleasure of Ahura
Mazda, at the pleasure of the Amssha Spsntas.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
VIII
36. We worship the glorious, opulent star Tishtrya whom, when man-
kind has passed through a year (?), the lords acquiring insight and the
wild (beasts) who haunt the mountains and the timid (animals) who
roam the plains watch for, whether rising with a good crop for the
country or coming up with a bad crop, (saying): When will the Aryan
countries have a good crop?
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
IX
37. We worship the glorious, opulent star Tishtrya, whose flight is fast,
swift-flying, who flies as swiftly to the Wouru.kasha sea as the super-
natural arrow which the archer Brsxsha, the best archer of the Aryans,
shot from Mount Airyo.xshutha to Mount Xwanwant.
38. Ahura Mazda blew upon (?) it; [the Amasha Spgntas] (Ahura Mazda
(?) and) Mithra of wide pastures fully prepared for it a path. Good tall
Ashi and Parandi with the swift chariot swept along behind it, all along,
until, flying, it reached Mount Xwanwant. It came down onto Mount
Xwanwant.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
X
39. We worship the glorious, opulent star Tishtrya who overcomes the
Pairikas, who defeats the Pairikas which Angra Mainyu threw out,
thinking to keep back all the stars containing the seed of water.
 148 I Tishtrya

40. Tishtrya overcomes them; from the Wouru.kasha sea he drives them
away. Then clouds will float up bearing the waters which ensure a good
crop, in which the streaming showers spread out widely, streaming
down on the seven continents.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
XI
41. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya for whom the stag-
nant and running waters, the spring (waters) and the (waters) standing
in riverbeds, channel and bay(?) (waters) yearn, (saying):
42. When will opulent, glorious Tishtrya rise for us? When will the
springs of water stouter than a horse flow with an onward flow toward
the beautiful dwellings and settlements and pasture lands, running to
the roots of the plants? [They grow with a strong growth.]
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
XII
43. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya who washes away
completely all horrors, (who) sprinkles the . . . ( ? ) with water, who,
being most powerful, cures all the creatures if he is worshipped, propiti-
ated, satisfied, (and) acknowledged.
On account of his ravi . . . [continue with st. 3].
XIII
44. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya whom Ahura Mazda
created as ratu and overseer of all the stars, as (he created) Zarathush-
tra (ratu and overseer) of men, whom Angra Mainyu does not harm, nor
the witches and sorcerers, nor the sorcerers among men, nor do all the
daewas together dare (?) to harm (him).
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
XIV
45. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya, for whom Ahura
Mazda created a thousand perceptions, strongest among the (stars)
bearing the seeds of the waters, who comes flying among the lights with
the (stars) bearing the seeds of the waters.
46. To all the bays of the strong, beautiful, deep Wouru.kasha sea that
has wide expanses of water, and to all the beautiful inlets and to all the
beautiful outlets he comes in the form of a beautiful white horse with
yellow ears (and) golden bridle.
47. Then the waters, falling, cleansing (?), healing, descend, O Spitamid
Zarathushtra, from the Wouru.kasha sea. There the most powerful
 Tishtrya I 149

(Tishtrya) allots them to these countries when he is worshipped, pro-

pitiated, satisfied, (and) acknowledged.
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
XV
48. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya, for whom all the
creatures of Spgnta Mainyu yearn, those which live under the ground
and those which live above the ground, and those which are aquatic and
terrestrial and those which fly and those which move on the plains, and
those which are above them—[it is said to be the boundless, infinite
existence of the Righteous].
On account of his rayi . . . [continue with st. 3].
49. We worship the opulent, glorious star Tishtrya, solicitous, vigorous,
perceptive, able, having power over thousands of boons, who gives
boons especially to him who propitiates him, to the man who asks being
unasked.
50. I created, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, yonder star Tishtrya as worthy
of worship, as worthy of praise, as worthy of propitiation, as worthy of
glorification also as myself, Ahura Mazda,
51. for the resistance and for the obstruction and for the overcoming and
for the requital of the enmity of the Pairika who (is called) "Bad Crop,"
whom evil-speaking men call "Good Crop" by name.
52. If I had not created, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, yonder star Tishtrya
. . . [continue with st. 50].
53. [Repeat st. 51.]
54. (then) indeed, as far as I am concerned, here each day or each night
the Pairika (called) "Bad Crop," running to and fro, would have com-
pletely (?) rent the life-force of the entire material world.
55. Tishtrya, indeed, opulent (and) glorious, fetters that Pairika with
insuperable double, triple, and multiple bonds, as if a thousand men
who were the strongest in bodily strength were to fetter a single man.
56. If, indeed, O Spitamid Zarathushtra, the Aryan peoples were mind-
ful of opulent, glorious Tishtrya's due worship and praise, since it is to
him that worship and praise are most due according to the Truth which
is best, (then) there would be no enemy army directed here toward the
Aryan countries, nor famine, nor mange (?), nor . . . (?), nor a war
chariot, nor an upraised banner.
57-61. [Yt. 14.49-53, with the substitution of "Tishtrya" for
Wsrothraghna" (pp 86-87).]
 13. Haoma
Two elements stand at the very center of Indo-Iranian ritual. They are
haoma/soma and fire. From the times of the Avesta and the Vedas down
to the present day, the major Zoroastrian and Vedic rituals have been
inseparable from these elements. Avestan haoma (OPers hauma, MPers
horn, OInd soma, Ilr *sauma) is a word whose meaning is as clear as
anyone could wish. It is a noun derived with a suffix -ma- from a verb
hu-lhau- (*su-/sau-), which means 'to press or extract (juice from some-
thing)'. Therefore, haoma is simply 'the thing which has been pressed,
pressing, i.e., juice'. In both Avestan and Vedic, the expression huta
haomalsuta soma, lit. 'the pressed pressing', is common. Further, in
Avestan the word for the press (consisting of mortar and pestle) is hawa-
na- 'the presser'. It is important to realize that this specialized word
originally meant 'juice'; it was not the name of a plant. Only at a later time
could the sacred juice have become a name for the plant from which it was
extracted. This fact has been one of the greatest impediments to an iden-
tification of the plant, for, at an early period, it seems that both Indians
and Iranians began to use a variety of substitutes, plants whose juices
could scarcely induce the mental states ascribed to the genuine article. In
other words, in the history of Vedic and Zoroastrian rituals, a parallel
process of symbolic valorization occurred whereby the symbolism of the
ritual took precedence over the actual properties of the juice. The cause
of this transformation is surely the new environments in which the two
peoples found themselves after leaving the "homeland." The haoma/
soma-producing plant was just not available in India or Iran, and so one
had to make do with whatever was at hand.
Neither the Vedas nor the Avesta, as will be seen, offer much in the
way of botanical description of the plant. Whatever the identity of the
soma/haoma plant may have been, it is certain that only its stems or stalks
were used. These are called in Avestan asu, in Vedic amsu. When
pressed, the stalks yielded a juice whose color was harilzairi. Although
this color word refers to colors ranging from brown to yellow, one can be
fairly confident, on the basis of Soma's frequent comparison with the sun
and Haoma's epithet 'radiant', that the color was yellow. In both tradi-
tions the juice was thought to have medicinal properties. Finally, there
are indications that the plant grew in mountainous regions. Many propos-
als have been made in respect to haoma/soma's identity. Currently, the
 Haoma I 151

most popular proposal is that of R. G. Wasson,44 that soma was the

hallucinogenic mushroom Amanita muse aria, which, in recent centuries
at least, has been used by shamans in central Asia and Siberia. Although
the mushroom argument appears quite compelling at first sight, it is not
really supported by textual evidence at all.
As intriguing as the problem of haoma/soma's identification is, it does
not contribute one way or the other to a religious understanding of the
sacred juice. Because of the relative paucity of information supplied in the
Avesta, our picture of haoma must be embellished through the rich Vedic
materials. To begin with, one should understand that haoma/soma is at
once the juice produced and consumed in the ritual and a great god. All
actual pressings are the visible presence of the god himself. In the mind of
the worshipper, the haoma was always a manifestation of Haoma, and, as
such, the drink was always charged with sacred power and infused with
divine personality. Haoma/soma is characteristically found as the subject
of the verb mad- or with one of its nominal derivatives. This verb can
have a range of meaning from 'to be drunk, intoxicated' to 'rejoice, be
exhilarated'. When applied to haoma/soma, it falls somewhere between
the two in that what is implied is an altered state of mind through imbib-
ing, yet the state is far from drunkenness. As Y. 10.8 so succinctly puts it,
"all other intoxicants (maidhyangho) are accompanied by Wrath with the
horrible club; but that intoxication (madho) which is Haoma's is accom-
panied by gladdening Truth." This idea of haoma's ability to bring one
into relationship with Truth is an oft-repeated theme in the Rgveda. There
the poets attribute their religious insight and intellectual creativity to the
powers of soma. Far from inducing a mindless stupor, soma stimulated
the mind, enhancing one's mental powers in the sense that it enabled one
to grasp Truth (rta, asha). A second major property of haoma/soma, one
which may seem unrelated to the first, was that of a stimulant taken by
warriors before going into battle. No doubt this explains why Haoma is
invoked for victoriousness and why various heroes of Iranian legend and
myth are specified as primary practitioners of his cult.
The major ceremony of Zoroastrian ritual is and has been the yasna (see
Introduction, p. 14). Since the primary concern of the yasna is haoma, the
Haoma Yasht is included in the Yasna section of the Avesta instead of
among the Yashts.

Haoma (Horn) Yasht

Yasna 9
1. At the time of the pressing, Haoma approached Zarathushtra, who
was putting the fire in proper order and reciting gathas. Zarathushtra
 752 / Haoma

asked him: Who, O man, are you, the most beautiful of the entire
material world that I have seen . . . ?
2. Then he, righteous Haoma who keeps death far away (?),45 answered:
I, O Zarathushtra, am righteous Haoma who keep death far away. Seek
me, O Spitamid; press me out for drinking; praise me for strength as the
future Saoshyants will praise me.
3. Then Zarathushtra said: Reverence to Haoma! Who was the first
man, O haoma, to press you for the sake of the material world? What
award was accorded him? What boon came to him?
4. Then he, righteous Haoma who keeps death far away, answered:
WTwahwant was the first man to press me for the sake of the material
world. This award was accorded him; this boon came to him, that a son
was born to him, regal Yima rich in herds, possessing the most
xwaranah among people, like the sun among men, who made it that
under his rule cattle and men did not die, water and vegetation did not
dry up, (who made) inexhaustible victuals [food].
5. In the reign of brave Yima, there was neither cold nor heat, there was
neither old age nor death, nor daewa-created jealousy. Father and son
alike went about fifteen (years old) in appearance so long as Yima, rich
in herds, the son of Wlwahwant, ruled.
6. Who was the second man, O Haoma, to press you for the sake of the
material world? What award was accorded him? What boon came to
him?
7. Then he, righteous Haoma who keeps death far away, answered:
Athvya was the second man to press me for the sake of the material
world. This award was accorded him; this boon came to him, that a son
was born to him, Thraetaona of the mighty house,
8. who slew three-mouthed, three-headed Azhi Dahaka, with six eyes
(and) a thousand perceptions, the very powerful daewic Lie, the drug-
want evil for creatures, whom Angra Mainyu created as the most
powerful Lie, against the material world for the destruction of the world
of Truth.
9. Who was the third man, O Haoma, to press you for the sake of the
material world? What award was accorded him? What boon came to
him?
10. Then he, righteous Haoma who keeps death far away, answered:
Thrita, mightiest of the Samids, was the third man to press me for the
sake of the material world. This award was accorded him; this boon
came to him, that two sons were born to him, Urwaxshaya and
Ksrssaspa: the one a law-giving teacher, the other a very skilled, curly-
haired, club-bearing youth,
 Haoma I 153

11. who slew the horse-devouring, man-devouring, poisonous, yellow-

ish-horned Serpent, over whom (the Serpent) yellowish poison spurted
up to the height of a spear shaft, on whom Ksrasaspa cooked food in a
metal (pot) at noon time. The scoundrel became hot and began to
sweat. He dashed forth from (under) the metal (pot); he cast the boiling
water about. Frightened, he ran off to the side [heroic-minded
Karasaspa].
12. Who was the fourth man, O Haoma, to press you for the sake of the
material world? What award was accorded him? What boon came to
him?
13. Then he, righteous Haoma who keeps death far away, answered:
Pourushaspa was the fourth man to press me for the sake of the material
world. This award was accorded him; this boon came to him, that you
were born to him, O upright Zarathushtra, of the house of Pourushaspa,
a daewa-repudiating follower of ahuric doctrine.
14. You are famed in Aryana Waeja as the first, O Zarathushtra, to have
recited the Ahuna wairya four times with (the proper) pauses, and then
with a loud recitation.
15. You, O Zarathushtra, made all the daewas go into underground
concealment who formerly roamed about this earth in human form—
(you) who have become the strongest, the bravest, the most energetic,
the fastest, the most victorious of the Creation of the two Spirits.
16. Then Zarathushtra said: Reverence to Haoma! Good Haoma, well-
created Haoma, properly created, good, created (?), curative, well-
built, beneficent, victorious, yellow-colored, having tasty (?) stalks—so
that (Haoma) is best for the drinker and the best provision for the soul.
17. I call down, O yellow (Haoma), your intoxicating power, strength,
victoriousness, (ability to grant) health, curativeness, prosperity,
growth, force for the entire body, complete knowledge, (and) I call
down this that I may go about among beings autonomous(ly), overcom-
ing hostility, defeating the Lie,
18. (and I call down) this, that I may overcome the hostilities of all those
who are hostile, of daewas and men, of sorcerers and witches, of
tyrants, kawis, and karapans, and of biped scoundrels and of biped
confusers of the Truth and of quadruped wolves and of the enemy army
with a broad front, burning (?) (and) rushing.
19. This first favor I ask of you, O Haoma, (you who) keep death far
away: the Paradise of the Righteous (which is) light (and) constrains all
good things.
This second favor I ask of you, O Haoma, (you who) keep death far
away: health for this body.
 154 I Haoma

This third favor I ask of you, O Haoma, (you who) keep death far
away: longevity of life.
20. This fourth favor I ask of you, O Hamoa, (you who) keep death far
away: that I, (being) capable, strong, (and) contented, may make my
stand on this earth overcoming hostility, defeating the Lie.
This fifth favor I ask of you, O Haoma, (you who) keep death far
away: that I, victorious, winning battles, may make my stand on this
earth overcoming hostility, defeating the Lie.
21. This sixth favor I ask of you, O Haoma, (you who) keep death far
away: may we first become aware of the thief, first the bandit, first the
wolf; let no one become aware of us first; of all may we be the first to
become aware!
22. Haoma allots power and strength to the heroes who are driving
(their) teams to battle.
Haoma gives those (women) giving birth regal sons and righteous
progeny.
Haoma allots increment and knowledge even to those who (as)
householders (?) devote themselves to the study of the Nasks.
23. Haoma allots a husband (?) and master (?) even to those maidens
who have remained long unmarried, as soon as he, having good intelli-
gence, is entreated.
24. Haoma deposed from power even him, Karasani, who in his lust for
power lamented, who (had) said, "May an athrawan from now on not
go about increasing (religious) studies in my country."
He will conquer all the increases;
He will smite down all the increases.
25. Hail to you, who are through your own power autonomous, O
Haoma!
Hail to you! You greatly inspire the correctly spoken words.
Hail to you! You do not question the correctly spoken speech by
means of circuitous questioning(?).
26. Mazda brought you Paurwanya as a girdle, star-adorned, super-
naturally fashioned, [the good Religion of the worshippers of Mazda],
And you are girdled with this on the peaks of the mountains, for long (?)
the ... (?) and ... (?) of the Holy Word.
27. O Haoma, head of the family, head of the settlement, head of the
tribe, head of the country! through (your) beneficence lord of wisdom! I
call upon you for strength and victoriousness for myself and for growth
that causes much felicity.
28. Carry away from us the enmities of (our) enemies, away the intent of
 Haoma I 155

those who rage (against us)! Whatever evil-doing man there is in this
household, in this village, in this tribe, in this country, seize the
strength from his legs, cloud his intelligence, thwart his purpose!
29. May you not have power in (your) legs! May you not have any
power in (your) hands!
May he not see the earth with (his) eyes! May he not see the Cow
with his eyes, he who does violence to our minds, he who does violence
to our bodies.
30. O yellow Haoma! strike with the mace the body of the jaundiced,
dreadful, poison-spitting snake, for the sake of the righteous person
threatened with destruction.
O yellow Haoma! strike with the mace the body of the bloodthirsty
bandit become great (and) enraged, for the sake of the righteous person
threatened with destruction.
31. O yellow Haoma! strike with the mace the body of the drugwant
man, of the haughty tyrant, for the sake of the righteous person
threatened with destruction.
O yellow Haoma! strike with the mace the body of the unrighteous
perverter of Truth, the destroyer of life (who) has in mind the words of
this Religion, (but) does not carry (them) out in (his) actions, for the
sake of the righteous person threatened with destruction.
32. O yellow Haoma! strike with the mace the body of the whore en-
chantress, who provides pleasure, who approaches (the man) whose
mind tosses like a cloud buffeted by the wind, for the sake of the
righteous person threatened with destruction.
O yellow Haoma! strike her body with the mace for the sake of the
righteous person threatened with destruction.

Yasna 10
1. Here, now, let the daewas and the daewls disperse! May good Sraosha
stay here (as a guest).
May good Ashi stay here (as a guest); may good Ashi rest here at this
house which is ahuric, which belongs to Truth-promoting Haoma.
2. I praise with speech, O insightful (Haoma), your lower pressing stone
which accepts the stalks; also I praise with speech, O insightful
(Haoma), your upper pressing stone with (?) which I pound with the
force of a man.
3. I praise the cloud(s) and the rain which cause your body to grow on
the peaks of the mountains. I praise the high mountains where, O
Haoma, you are wont to grow.
 156 I Haoma

4. I praise the wide, broad, fertile (?), beneficent earth who bears you, O
righteous Haoma.
I praise the earth's pasture (land?) where you grow, pleasant-
smelling, brave.
May you grow, O Haoma, on the mountain as Mazda's good growth
and also prosper in every way! And you are actually the spring of
Truth.
5. Increase through my speech in all (your) stems, in all (your) sprouts,
in all (your) branches.
6. When praised, Haoma increases; so the man who praises him be-
comes more victorious. Even the slightest pressing of Haoma, even the
slightest praise of Haoma, even the slightest drink of Haoma serves to
slay a thousand daewas.
7. When created, impurity disappears immediately from this house
where regularly one brings in (?), where regularly one praises the man-
ifest curative medicine of medicinal Haoma [for his village and dwell-
ing].
8. Indeed, all the other intoxicating drinks are accompanied by Wrath
with the horrible club; but that intoxication which is Haoma's is accom-
panied by gladdening Truth. Haoma's intoxication makes nimble the
person who may laud Haoma as a young son. Haoma will serve them
for curative purposes.
9. O Haoma, give me the medicines by which you are the grantor of
health. O Haoma, give me the powers to smash resistance with which
you overcome resistance. I will serve you as a praising (?) friend. [The
Creator, Ahura Mazda said that a praising friend (is) very good, as (is)
the Best Truth.]
10. The beneficent god fashioned you as a hero created by the Creator.
The beneficent god deposited you, the hero created by the Creator, on
the high Haraitl.
11. Then bounteous, wise birds carried you (away) in various directions:
to Mount Ishkata which is in the Hindu Kush, to the mountain peak
Staro.sara, to ... (?), to ... (?), to Mount Spita.gama.46
12. Now you, O Haoma, having many species, milky (?), yellow-
colored, grow (all) about in these mountains. Your medicines are com-
pounded with the wondrous powers of Wohu Manah.
Now, throw back the purpose of him who vilifies me, (throw) down
every single purpose of him who stands against me as a vilifier.
13. Reverence to Haoma, as (it is he who) makes the mind of the pauper
as exalted as even (the mind) of the richest!
 Haoma I 157

Reverence to Haoma, as (it is he who) makes the mind of the pauper

as exalted as ... (?) when he attains (?) (his) desires.
You make rich in men, very prosperous, (and) very intelligent (him)
who regularly partakes of you, O yellow Haoma, mixed with milk.
14. [Obscure.]
15. I reject the . . . (?) of the villainous, slow-witted . . . (?) who thinks
she is deceiving the athrawan and Haoma [It is she who, being de-
ceived, perishes], who sets about to consume that which is Haoma's
portion. (Haoma) grants her neither sons who (will become) athrawans
nor good sons.
16. I belong to five things; I do not belong to five things.
I belong to good thought; I do not belong to bad thought.
I belong to good speech; I do not belong to bad speech.
I belong to good action; I do not belong to bad action.
I belong to obedience; I do not belong to disobedience.
I belong to the Righteous; I do not belong to the Drugwant, and even
from this (time) until in the end the victory of the two Spirits will take
place.
17. Then Zarathushtra said: Reverence to Mazda-created Haoma! Good
Mazda-created Haoma! Reverence to Haoma!
I praise all the Haomas, whether on the mountaintops, whether in the
river valleys, whether held in straits in the fetters of women.
I pour (Haoma) from the silver cup into the golden. May I not let
(any) of you, so wealthy and valuable, fall to the earth.
18. These, O Haoma, (are) your gathas, these are (your) hymns of
praise, these are (your) teachings (?), these are (your) correctly uttered
words (which) bring health (?), (are) victorious, counter enmity, (and
are) curative.
19. . . . (?)
May your intoxicating drinks go forth. May your luminous, intoxicat-
ing drinks go forth. The intoxicating drinks fly speedily.
The victorious one praises the . . . ( ? ) with this gathic speech.
20. Reverence to the Cow! Reverence to the Cow! Benediction (?) for
the Cow! Protection (?) for the Cow! Food for the Cow! Fodder for the
Cow!
21. We worship lofty, yellow Haoma, we worship radiant, life-
promoting Haoma. We worship Haoma who keeps death far away. We
worship the reward and the frawashi here of Zarathushtra Spitamid, the
righteous.
Yenghe hatam . . . [Repeat prayer (p. 182).]
 158 I Haoma

Yasna 11
1. Verily, three ashawans—the cow, the horse, and Haoma—shout
curses. The cow curses the zaotar: May you be both childless and
accompanied by ill repute, you who do not distribute me (when I am)
cooked, but fatten me for your wife or your son or your own belly.
2. The horse curses the rider: May you not be a yoker of horses, nor a
mounter of hourses, nor a harnesser of horses, you who do not entreat
me for (my) strength at the manifold assembly of the district (?) having
many men.
3. Haoma curses the herdsman: May you be both childless and accom-
panied by ill repute, you who keep me (when) pressed like a thief whose
head is forfeit. Indeed, I am not one whose head is forfeit, I who am
righteous Haoma who keeps death far away!
4. The father, righteous Ahura Mazda, vouchsafed for me, Haoma, as
sacrificial portion the jaw together with the tongue and the left eye.
5. Ye who would destroy me for this sacrificial portion, or would steal
(it), or would take away (that sacrificial portion) which righteous Ahura
Mazda gave me, (namely) the jaws together with the tongue and the left
eye,
6. in this (his) house, shall be born neither a priest nor a warrior nor a
farmer; rather in this (his) house shall be born Dahakas, Murakas, and
Warshnas of many sorts.
7. Quickly cut out the sacrificial portion of the cow for swiftest Haoma,
lest Haoma bind you as he bound the scoundrel, Frangrasyan the Tura-
nian, surrounded by (his) metal (fortress), in the middle third of this
earth.
8. Then Zarathushtra said: Reverence to Mazda-created Haoma! good
Mazda-created Haoma! Reverence to Haoma!
9. [Obscure.]
10. O righteous Haoma, I dedicate to you this body (of mine) which
seems to me well developed—to swift Haoma for intoxication, for
beatitude, for possession of Truth.
O righteous Haoma, (you) who keep death far away, may you also
bestow upon me Paradise of the Righteous (which), shining, possesses
all good things.
 14. Atar
In the popular conception of Zoroastrianism, fire worship is one of the
most prominent features of the religion. The characterization of Zoroas-
trians as fire worshippers is quite old, as fire played an important role in
Zoroastrianism, especially as it evolved in Sasanid times. As important as
fire is to the religion, its importance can be overstated. To judge by the
evidence provided by our Old Iranian sources, fire was not an especially
important component of the religion in terms, at least, of its intellectual
expression. Although there is a hazard in making an all too sharp division
between a religion's intellectual expressions, its mythology and theology,
and its ritual practices, the distinction can be useful in so far as often ritual
activities, which consume a great portion of a person's time and which are
regarded as fundamental, may receive only slight mention in verbal ex-
pression. Similarly, ritual, observed without reference to ideology, may
give a very one-sided picture of the religion as a whole.
To begin with, Atar, whose name means 'fire', is at once an element
and a divine being. Just as in the case of Haoma, so in that of Atar, the
religious person would have been unable to distinguish the fire itself from
the god. The mystery of it is that, in all of its forms on earth, a fire is
always Fire. Although every fire is a manifestation of Fire, its true sancti-
ty resided in the fire in the household hearth. Fire temples, abundantly
documented during the Sasanid period, were unknown in ancient Iran.
The domestic hearth had two functions: (1) the hearth fire cooked the
meals (Y. 62.7); (2) it was a center of worship. It is the second function
that is of concern here.
In Indo-Iranian religion, the god of fire was the intermediary between
earth and heaven, between men and the gods. Irrespective of other con-
siderations, this role itself made Fire a sine qua non of almost every
sacrificial act. In the Rgveda, Agni (Fire) is frequently invoked either to
conduct the gods to the sacrifice or to convey the offerings to the gods.
Similarly, the role of intermediary is expressed in the Avesta in terms of
the worshipper's access to God. For example, Y. 36.1 reads: "Through
the efficacy of this (i.e., the sacrificers') fire we approach you first, O
Ahura Mazda." Like Vedic Agni who bears the epithet 'the insatiable'
(anala), Iranian Atar required perpetual care, and it was considered a
terrible offense to let the sacred fire die out in one's house. Yasna 62
emphasizes not only the need for proper fuel, but also the necessity of
 160 I Atar

proper care by a qualified member of the religious community whose duty

it is to tend the hearth, to please the god with incense, and to nourish him
with food offerings. (For the role of the fire in the broader context of the
ritual see the Introduction, pp. 14-15.)
As already indicated, the great fires of Sasanid Iran (Adur-Farnbag,
Gushnasp, and Burzen Mihr) are not mentioned in the Avesta. There is a
classification of five fires, however (e.g., Y. 17.11), which, according to
the later notice of the Bundahishn (18.1-7), relates to the manifestations of
Fire in various aspects of nature. These are: (1) the Barazisawah, "which
blazes in the presence of Ohrmazd," that is, the transcendent fire; (2) the
Wohu.frydna, "which is in the bodies of men and animals"; (3) the Urwa-
zishta, "which is in plants"; (4) the Wazishta, "which is in the cloud";
and (5) the Spdnishta, "which is kept for work in the material world." (1)
and (5) are opposites, the transcendent and mundane fires; (2) and (3) are
the life forces in the animal and vegetable world; (4) is the agent of rain.
Another important function of fire was its use in judicial processes in
regard to oaths and ordeals (see Yt. 12.3 [p. 79].) Oaths and covenants
were solemnized over the sacred element (see sect. 3). Ordeals involving
molten metal and boiling oil seem to have enjoyed great favor as well.
From the Indo-Iranian perspective, Atar is scarcely to be separated
from Agni. The only problem is the difference of names. OInd agni 'fire'
is an Indo-European word (cf. Lat ignis; Lith ugnis; OChSl ogn). Except
perhaps for an ambiguous proper name Dashtaghni, this word for fire does
not occur in Iranian; rather, atar, a uniquely Iranian word, is used. It is a
facile move to attribute the Iranian avoidance of *aghni to Zarathush-
tra's reform, as is so often done in Zoroastrian studies when something
defies explanation. In this case it explains nothing, for, if Zarathushtra
disliked *Aghni, why should he have only changed his name without
altering his personality?
Finally, we should draw attention to two myths involving Atar. The
first occurs in the myth of Xwarsnah's flight (Yt. 19.46-50 [pp. 92-93]). The
other does not occur in the Avesta, but is alluded to in a late Pahlavi text
where the hero Ksrasaspa is damned for having killed Fire, Ohrmazd's
son.47

Yasna 62
1. Yatha ahu wairyo. [Repeat prayer twice (p. 183).]
I wish you, O Atar, son of Ahura Mazda, worship and praise and a
good offering and a desired offering and a praised offering.
You are worthy of worship (and) praise.
You ought to be worthy of worship (and) praise in the houses of men.
 Atar I 161

Weal to this man who regularly worships you with fuel in hand, with
barasman in hand, with (a dish of) milk in hand, with a mortar in hand.
2. May you have the proper fuel, may you have the proper incense, may
you have the proper food, may you have the proper hearth, may you be
under the care of an adult, may you be under the care of a member of
the community, O Atar, son of Ahura Mazda,
3. in order to blaze in this house, in order to continuously blaze in this
house, in order to shine in this house, in order to grow in this house for
a very long time, until the mighty Frasho.kargti, along with the mighty,
good Frasho.karsti.
4. May you give me, O Atar, son of Ahura Mazda, quickly felicity,
quickly protection, quickly life, fully felicity, fully protection, fully life,
(and) wisdom, increment, a quick tongue, understanding for (my) soul,
moreover, intelligence (which is) great, massive, (and) stable,
5. moreover, (give me) Manly Valor, standing upright, unsleeping, seat-
ed in his place wakeful, and (give me) nobly raised progeny having
jurisdiction over boundary lines, eloquent, growing up beneficent, sav-
ing (the parents) from anxiety, intelligent, who (the progeny) shall make
the house and the settlement and the clan and the country and the fame
of the country prosper for me.
6. May you give to me, O Atar, son of Ahura Mazda, (progeny) who will
be . . . (?) for me, now and forever.
(Give me) the Paradise of the Righteous, shining, containing all good
things—in order that (I may) win a good reward and good repute and
long beatitude for the soul.
7. Atar, (the son) of Ahura Mazda, brings fame to all for whom he cooks
the evening and morning (meals).
From everyone he requires good offerings(s), desired offerings,
praised offerings, O Spitamid.
8. Atar sees the hands of all passersby, (saying): What does the friend
bring the friend, the moving one the reposing?
9. For if he brings him fuel brought in the proper way or barssman
spread in the proper way or a pomegranate plant, Atar, (the son) of
Ahura Mazda, satisfied, not treated with enmity, blesses him according
to his request.
10. May herds of cattle (and) a plurality of men attend you. May an
effective mind and an effective spirit attend you. May you live a happy
life during all the nights which you will live. This is Atar's blessing (for
him) who brings him dry, bright-burning fuel (which) has been properly
prepared according to the rites of Truth.
 15. Purity and Pollution
For religious man generally, and for the Zoroastrian in particular, the
paired concepts of purity and pollution play an exceptionally important
role in daily life. Most activities are carefully circumscribed by rules
whose purpose is to protect the individual, the religious community, and
even nature at large from pollution. It should be kept in mind from the
outset, however, that when one speaks of purity and pollution one is not
necessarily speaking with reference to hygiene as we understand it today.
Although it is true that many rules concerning purity and pollution do in
fact correspond to modern scientific notions of hygiene, in most cases this
should be regarded as an accident. This is because the concepts of purity
and pollution take their place within the context of the religious world
view. The particular prescriptions are, therefore, often comprehensible
only in so far as they form an integral part of a more general system of
thought. For example, one might reasonably suppose that the extreme
caution exercised in the disposal of the dead was motivated by a fear of
contagion from the decomposing body. Upon further investigation,
however, one finds that only the corpse of an ashawan is contagious
because of its possession by the Corpse Demon (Nasu Druj), whereas the
corpse of a drugwant is not possessed by a demon and hence is harmless.
Thus, demonology, not hygiene, is the determining factor.
There is little reason to doubt that Zoroastrianism received a complex
system of rules of purity and pollution from its Indo-Iranian heritage, yet,
like Rabbinical Judaism, it shows an ever-increasing concern for such
matters, to the point of obsession in late Sasanid times. One has already
had the opportunity incidentally to witness a tendency in the Yashts
toward a preoccupation with spells and demonology. This is part of a
larger shift of emphasis from the more elevated religion of Zarathushtra
and of the Old Iranian religion preserved primarily in the Yashts to the
priestly casuistry so dominant in the Pahlavi books. Nowhere is the latter
better attested in the Avesta than in the Vendidad (see Introduction, p. 27).
In an anthology one is constrained in respect to the breadth of details one
can include. As a result, I have limited the selections to the two most
important areas of pollution in the Zoroastrian world view. They are:
(1) pollution from contact with corpses, and (2) pollution from women,
especially from menstruation.
The primary key to understanding the notions of pollution exhibited
 Purity and Pollution I 163
here is the fundamental Zoroastrian dualism of the Lie (Druj) and the
Truth (Asha). In the older expressions of the religion this was an ethical,
albeit cosmic, dualism. But as time passed the ethical dualism came in-
creasingly to be understood more as a simple dualism of good versus evil.
In the present context, this was translated to mean that the world of Asha
was synonymous with purity, the world of the Druj, with pollution. And
in this situation the world of Asha is constantly threatened with contagion
from the world of the Druj. The sacred elements of fire, water, and the
earth, no less than the community of the Righteous, must be protected or
protect themselves from pollution. Much pollution can be avoided
through diligent attention to religious law. Many cases of pollution are
unavoidable, however, as they are the result of the inevitable processes of
life. Two such processes are death and female menstruation. Since their
occurrence is inevitable, elaborate countermeasures were required to iso-
late the source of pollution and to restore purity.
The first selection (Vendidad 5) deals mostly with the pollution of fire
and water through accident or design, as well as with the handling of
corpses in various situations. It is worth noting here that water is particu-
larly susceptible to uncontrollable pollution and that, according to Indo-
Iranian ideas of hydrology, the water supply was a finite, self-replenishing
system. I have already discussed the beginnings of the hydrologic cycle
(see sects. 9 and 12). At the end of the cycle is a sea called Puitika (the
Filter). Into it pass all the rivers, which become increasingly polluted as
they reach their estuaries. After they are filtered, the waters return in an
immaculate state to the Wouru.kasha sea.
The isolation of the corpse discussed in Vendidad 5 and its eventual
placement in the daxma (Vend. 7.53-58) belong to the uniquely Zoroas-
trian funeral practices. One aspect of the funeral ceremonies is the care
for the soul (urwan) and propitiation of the frawashi of the deceased. The
other aspect is the disposal of the dangerous Druj-infested corpse.
Zoroastrians were in a particular quandary over the means of disposal,
since they could neither burn the dead nor bury them in water or earth lest
they pollute either the fire, the water, or the earth. As a solution, they
exposed the cadavers to be devoured by carrion birds and animals in
open-air enclosures (daxma) specially designed to isolate the earth from
defilement. This practice is still observed today.
In the event of contact with carrion, especially in the case of the de-
ceased, an elaborate purification ceremony was prescribed, which is
known as the barsshnum. This ceremony could also be employed in other
cases in which purification was required. Today it is chiefly used by
priests as a general purification rite. Chap. 9 of the Vendidad gives an
outline of the ceremony whose details must be supplied by later sources.
 164 I Purity and Pollution

The ceremony lasts nine days, during which the polluted person becomes
gradually rid of contagion from the Nasu Druj, as he or she moves in
successive three-day periods through the enclosure. The enclosure
(maghd) is divided into three rectangular sections along a north-south
axis. Each section (also magha) contains three holes (again maghas), all
on the central axis, and the entire enclosure as well as the individual
sections are bounded by furrows, the purpose of which is to isolate the
inner space of danger from the outside world. The magical furrows im-
pose a barrier, which the polluting demon cannot penetrate. The holes
serve as receptacles for the ablutions, first of cow's urine (the six north-
ernmost holes), then of water (the three southernmost holes). Although
washing in cow's urine may be repugnant to our Western sensitivities, we
should bear in mind that, for many peoples the world over, especially
pastoralists, urine is commonly used as a disinfectant. In India and Iran
where cattle are (or were) sacred, their urine is considered particularly
efficacious, more so than water, which, as shown here, is employed only
after the prior ablution with urine.
To facilitate an understanding of the barashnum, the accompanying
diagram is offered for reference.
The last selection deals with the isolation of menstruating women and
with the punishments for men who have sexual relations with a woman
during menstruation. As in the case of carrion, menstruation is an occa-
sion of daewa-infested pollution. The woman must be isolated in order to
protect the rest of the community. Any contact with the woman results in
pollution. Obviously, all sexual relations must be diligently avoided, and,
while some forms of sexual play can be expiated, coitus itself results in
everlasting pollution and eternal damnation for the man.

Vendiddd5.1-44
1. Now, a man dies in the river valleys. Then a bird flies up from the
mountain peaks (down) to the river valleys. It devours the corpse of the
dead man. Then the bird flies up from the river valleys to the mountain
peaks. It flies to the tree with hard and (?) (or?) soft (wood). It vomits
on it, it defecates on it, it pisses (?) on it.
2. Now, a man goes forth from the river valleys to the mountain peaks.
He comes upon the tree which the bird (polluted). He is seeking fuel for
the fire. He fells it. He cuts it. He splits (?) it. He lights the fire, the son
of Ahura Mazda.
What is his punishment?
3. Then Ahura Mazda said: Carrion brought to a man either by a dog or
a bird or a wolf or wind or flies does not render (him) sinful.
4. If these (sorts of) carrion, namely, carrion brought by a dog or a bird
North

Plan of the Magha

(Barsshnum Gah)
South
 166 I Purity and Pollution

or a wolf or wind or flies, were to render a man sinful, (then) immediate-

ly the entire material world of mine (would be) ... (?) in fear for its
soul, its body forfeit on account of the plenitude of these corpses which
lie upon this earth.
5. O righteous Creator of the material world! Now a man irrigates (his)
grain field with water running along a ditch—a second (and) a third
(time). Then the fourth (time the waters) drag under a dog or a fox or a
wolf.
What is his punishment?
6-7. [Repeats st. 3-4.]
8. O righteous Creator of the material world! Does water kill a man?
Then Ahura Mazda said: Water does not kill a man. Asto.widhatu
binds him; Wayu conducts him bound. The water rises, the water falls,
the water leaves (him exposed in the shallows). Afterwards birds de-
vour him.
Here now (a man) goes forth.
Now he meets his end, (all) by fate.
9. O righteous Creator of the material world! Does fire kill a man?
Then Ahura Mazda said: Fire does not kill a man. Asto.widhatu
binds him; Wayu conducts him bound. Fire burns (him) body and soul
(asta ushtansmcd).
Here now (a man) goes forth.
Now he meets his end, (all) by fate.
10. O righteous Creator of the material world! Summertime has passed,
now in winter what are these Mazdeans to do?
Then Ahura Mazda said: In each house, in each village they should
prepare three rooms for the deceased.
11. O righteous Creator of the material world! How large should these
rooms be for the deceased?
Then Ahura Mazda said: (Large enough so) that (the sides) do not hit
the head when its face is turned upward, nor forward against the feet,
nor laterally against the hands. This, indeed, is the prescribed room for
the deceased.
12. Then they should deposit his senseless body either for two nights or
three nights or the duration of a month or until the birds fly forth, the
plants sprout, the floods (?) flow away, (and) the wind dries up the
earth.
13. Then when the birds fly forth, the plants sprout, the flood (?) flows
away, (and) the wind dries up the earth, then the Mazdeans should
expose the body to the sun.
 Purity and Pollution I 167

14. If the Mazdeans should not expose the body to the sun within a
year's time, you should prescribe a punishment equally (severe) as
(that) for the murder of an ashawan—until the corpses have been rained
upon, and the daxmas have been rained upon, and the excretions have
been rained upon.
15. O righteous Creator of the material world! Do you, Ahura Mazda,
release water from Wouru.kasha at the same time as wind and clouds?
16. Will you, Ahura Mazda, convey (water) to the corpse?
Will you, Ahura Mazda, convey (water) to the daxma?
Will you, Ahura Mazda, convey (water) to the excretion(s)?
Will you, Ahura Mazda, send forth (water) to the skeleton?
Will you, Ahura Mazda, have what is polluted float forth?
Will you have these float together to the Puitika sea?
17. Then Ahura Mazda said: It is verily as you have now said, O upright
Zarathushtra. I, Ahura Mazda, release water from the Wouru.kasha sea
at the same time as wind and clouds.
18. I, Ahura Mazda, convey (water) to the corpse. I, Ahura Mazda,
convey (water) to the daxma. I, Ahura Mazda, convey (water) to the
excretion(s). I, Ahura Mazda, send forth (water) to the skeleton. I,
Ahura Mazda, have what is polluted float forth. I, Ahura Mazda, have
these float together to the Puitika sea.
19. They stay in the middle part of the sea, flowing about violently.
(Once) purified, the waters flow from the Puitika sea to the Wouru-
.kasha sea, to the tree Hwapi (Having Good Water). Here all my plants
grow in all species—by the hundreds, by the thousands; by the ten
thousand ten thousands.
20. I, Ahura Mazda, make them (al)together rain down (as) food for the
righteous man, (as) fodder for the beneficent Cow. [Man should eat my
grain; the fodder (is) for the beneficent Cow.]
21-38. [Omitted.]
39. O righteous Creator of the material world! When we assemble in
(our) homes in this material world, O righteous Ahura Mazda, fire and
barasman and bowls and haoma (plants) and mortars, but then a dog or
a man of the house should die, what are these Mazdeans to do?
40. Then Ahura Mazda said: They should remove, O Spitamid
Zarathushtra, the fire and barasman and bowls and haoma (plants) and
mortars from these houses. They should remove the deceased as a
law-abiding man (who) is carried to a lawfully prescribed (place) and is
devoured (by vultures).
41. O righteous Creator of the material world! How should the Maz-
deans bring the fire back into the house where this man passed away?
 168 I Purity and Pollution

42. Then Ahura Mazda said: The Mazdeans should wait nine nights in
winter, but in summer for a month. Afterward the Mazdeans may bring
the fire back into the house where this man passed away.
43. O righteous Creator of the material world! And if the Mazdeans
should bring the fire back into the house where this man passed away
before the nine nights (or) before the month (are) up, what is their (lit.
his) punishment?
44. Then Ahura Mazda said: (Since) he is apasho.tanu, one should lash
(him) with two hundred lashes of the horsewhip (and?) two hundred of
the sraosho.carana.
Vendidad 7.1-4, 9-15, 23-27
1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: O righteous Ahura Mazda, most
beneficent Spirit, Creator of the material world! When does the Nasu
Druj fly upon the dead man?
2. Then Ahura Mazda said: Right after the death, O Spitamid Zarathush-
tra, (when) consciousness (baodhah) has departed, the Nasu Druj flies
up from the north in the form of a . . . (?) fly crouching (on its front
legs), its anus in the air, (covered) with unlimited filth like the most
ghastly xrafstras.
3. 0 righteous Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the
material world! Now how much time does it take the Nasu Druj to fly to
(the body) after they (i.e., men) have been killed by dogs and by wolves
and by sorcerers and by enemies and by (falling over) a cliff and by men
and by treachery and by strangulation?
4. Then Ahura Mazda said: The Nasu Druj flies to (the body) afterward
in the next watch.
5-8. [Omitted.]
9. O righteous Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the
material world! To what extent does the Nasu Druj infect these two, the
bedding and the pillow, with (its) pestilence and putrefaction and pollu-
tion?
10. Then Ahura Mazda said: The Nasu Druj infects, outermost, the
bedding and pillow, innermost, the shroud (?), with (its) pestilence and
putrefaction and pollution.
11. O righteous Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the
material world! Can the garments which have come in contact with the
nasu of a dog or a deceased man be purified, O righteous Ahura Mazda?
12. Then Ahura Mazda said: They can be purified, O righteous
Zarathushtra.
 Purity and Pollution I 169

Just when (can this be done)?

If they are soiled with semen or blood or feces or vomit, then the
Mazdeans should cut the clothes off and bury (them).
13. But if they are not soiled with semen or blood or feces or vomit, then
the Mazdeans should wash the clothes in cow's urine.
14. If (the clothing) is of leather, they should wash (it) three times with
cow's urine, they should throw some earth (on it) three times, they
should wash (it) three times with water, (and) they should air (it) for
three months at a window of the house.
15. But if it is of cloth, they should wash (it) six times with cow's urine,
they should throw some earth (on it) six times, they should wash (it))
with water six times, (and) they should air (it) for six months at a
window of the house.
16-22. [Omitted.]
23. O righteous Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the
material world! Can men who eat the flesh of a dead dog or man be
purified, O righteous Ahura Mazda?
24. Then Ahura Mazda said: They cannot be purified, O righteous
Zarathushtra—and (in addition) those men who cut out the gall and who
cut out the heart (from a cadaver), and men who pluck the eyeballs out
of the sockets (of a cadaver). The Nasu Druj flies unto their necks.
Afterward they become unpurifiable for ever and ever.
25. O righteous Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the
material world! Can men who bring carrion (covered) with excrement
to either water or fire, making them polluted, be purified, O righteous
Ahura Mazda?
26. Then Ahura Mazda said: They cannot be purified, O righteous
Zarathushtra. They give the greatest strength to spiders and locusts,
those lying mutilators of corpses; they give the greatest strength to the
pastureless drought, those lying mutilators of corpses.
27. They are the best givers of strength to the daewa-created, cattle-
killing, very snowy, encroaching (?), terrible, evil, (and) maleficent
winter, those lying mutilators of corposes. The Nasu Druj flies unto
their necks. Afterward they become unpurifiable for ever and ever.

Vendidad 7.53-58
53. O righteous Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Creator of the
material world! Where is the daewa? Where the daewa worshippers?
Where is the place where the daewas assemble? Where is the place
where the daewas congregate? Where do the daewas assemble? With
 170 I Purity and Pollution

one hundred blows for (every) fifty blows . . . [continue with Yt. 10.43
from " . . . with one thousand blows" (p. 64)].
54. Then Ahura Mazda said: In the daxmas, O Spitamid Zarathushtra,
which are erected on this earth as walled enclosures where dead men
are deposited: that is where the daewa is, that is where the daewa
worshippers are, that is the place where the daewas assemble, that is
the place where the daewas congregate, there the daewas assemble.
With one hundred blows . . . [continue with Yt. 10.43 as above].
55. O Spitamid Zarathushtra, these daewas gobble (carrion) in the dax-
mas and vomit it up, as in this material life you men eat cooked food
. . . ( ? ) a n d cooked meat. . . . ( ? )
56. The (daxma), indeed, is the refuge of the daewas so long as the
stench attends (it).
57. In the daxmas congregate sickness and mange (?) and fever and
sickness (?) and chill (?) and ill health (?). [The hair is gray.]
58. After sunset the most destructive men congregate in the daxmas.

Vendidad 9
1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: O righteous Ahura Mazda, most
beneficent Spirit, Creator of the material world! Whither then in the
material existence might men turn, they who would purify their body
(possessed) by the nasu of a dead (man)?"
2. Then Ahura Mazda said: (They should turn to) a righteous man, O
Spitamid Zarathushtra, who(se) speech is honest, (who) studies scrip-
ture, (who) is an ashawan, who most of all is conversant with the office
of purifier of the Mazdean Religion.
He cuts away the plants on the surface of the earth to the length of
nine fathoms on each of four sides.
3-5. [Omitted.]
6. You should cut out a first hole: after the onset of summer, two finger
(breadths) deep, after the onset of winter [frost], four finger (breadths).
7. You should cut out a second hole. . . . [Continue with st. 6.]
(The sequence is repeated for a third hole through a sixth hole.)
8. How far from one another?
One pace.
How (is) one pace (determined)?
As three feet.
9. You should cut out three other holes. . . . [Continue with st. 6.]
How far from the preceding ones?
Three paces.
 Purity and Pollution I 171

How (are) three paces (determined)?

As one adds paces together.
How does one add paces together?
As nine feet.
10. You should also draw furrows with a sharp metal (knife).
How far from the holes?
Three paces.
How (are) three paces (determined)?
As one adds paces together.
How does one add paces together?
As nine feet.
11. Now, then, you should draw twelve furrows. You should draw three
which isolate three holes inside. You should draw three which isolate
six holes inside. You should draw three which isolate nine holes inside.
You should draw three (which isolate) inside (the three holes which are
isolated from) the other (six) enclosed (?) holes. You should bring to the
three (intervals) of nine feet stones or (else) a hoof or a wooden block
(?) or clod of earth or some other kind of hard earth.
12. Next, the polluted (person) should approach the holes. Then you, O
Zarathushtra, should station yourself beyond the furrowed area and
recite these words: namascd ya armaitish Izhaca. The polluted (person)
should respond to you (lit. him) (with the words): namasca ya armaitish
izhaca.
13. Then the Druj is cast down with each of the words (which are suit-
able) for smiting lying Angra Mainyu, for smiting Wrath with the terri-
ble club, for smiting the daewas from Mazandaran, for smiting all the
daewas.
14. Next, the cow's urine—(you should use) a pitcher (?) either of iron
or of lead. If a lead (pitcher is used) for besprinkling (the polluted
person), you should get a staff, O Zarathushtra, with nine knots on it:
you should fasten that lead (pitcher) to the tip of the staff.
15. First, his (i.e., those of the priest performing the purification; i.e.,
Zarathushtra's) hands should be washed, for if his hands (were) not
washed, he would make his entire body impure. Now, when his (i.e.,
your) hands are washed, then you should besprinkle the top of his head,
in front, with (your) washed hands three times.
Then the Nasu Druj flies onto the space between his [the man (being
purified)] brows.
16-26. You should besprinkle the space between his brows.
Then the Nasu Druj flies onto the back of his head. You should
besprinkle the back of his head.
 172 I Purity and Pollution

[This sequence is repeated for the following body parts in succession:

the jaw (?), the right ear, the left ear, the right shoulder, the left shoul-
der, the right armpit, the left armpit, the neck (?), the back, the right
nipple, the left nipple, the right (side of the) rib cage, the left side of the
rib cage, the right buttock, the left buttock, the groin, the right thigh,
the left thigh, the right knee, the left knee, the right calf, the left calf,
the right ankle, the left ankle, the right forefoot, the left forefoot, the
arch under the foot—right and left, the right big toe.]
. . . Then the Nasu Druj flies to the left big toe. You should be-
sprinkle the left big toe. Then the Nasu Druj turns away to the north in
the form of a . . . (?) fly crouching (on its front legs), its anus in the air,
(covered) with unlimited filth like the most ghastly xrafstras.
27. And you should recite these words which are the most victorious
and the most curative: yatha ahu wairyo . . . [repeat prayer (p. 183)];
ksmna mazda . . . (Y. 46.7); ks wsrathramja . . . [continue with Y.
44.16 (p. 44)].
28. At the first hole, the man becomes free of the Nasu. And you should
recite . . . [continue with st. 27],
[This sequence is repeated for the second hole through the sixth
hole.]
29. Thereupon the polluted (person) should sit down inside the magha
(i.e., the third of the places of purification) (which is) outside the other
(two) maghas, at a distance of four finger (breadths); and let him cleanse
himself with . . . ( ? ) of earth of these (holes).
30. One should throw earth fifteen times (on one's head). One should
wait until the hair on his head becomes dry to the roots.
31. When his body has become dry [dry (?) with dust], then the polluted
(person) should go to the other magha. At the first hole, he should
cleanse his own body once with water. At the second hole, he should
cleanse his own body twice with water. At the third hole, he should
cleanse his own body thrice with water.
32. Then he (the purifier) should fumigate him with sandal or benzoin or
aloe or pomegranate or any other of the most fragrant plants.
Then he should put on his clothes.
Then the polluted (person) should go into the living quarters.
33. He should quietly take his seat inside the house, (but) isolated from
the other Mazdeans.
He should not be allowed to approach the fire nor the water nor the
earth nor an animal nor a plant nor a righteous man nor a righteous
woman until three nights have passed. And after the period of three
 Purity and Pollution I 173

nights he should wash himself (and his) clothing with cow's urine and
water.
One should be purified (again) in the manner (prescribed above).
34. He should quietly take his seat. . . [continue with st. 33 to ". . . a
righteous woman"] until six nights have passed. And after the period of
six nights he should wash himself (and his) clothing with cow's urine
and water.
35. He should quietly take his seat. . . [continue with st. 33 to ". . . a
righteous woman"] until nine nights have passed. And after the period
of nine nights he should wash himself (and his) clothing with cow's
urine and water.
36. Afterward he may be allowed to approach the fire, the water, the
earth, an animal, a plant, a righteous man, (and) a righteous woman.

Vendidad 16
1. O righteous Creator of the material world! How should the Mazdeans
act when, in the house of a Mazdean, there sits a woman who has her
menstrual period, her menstruation, her blood?
2. Then Ahura Mazda said: In this case the Mazdean should pick out an
area without plants and shrubs (which can be used as) fuel. He should
deposit dry dust as a place (for her to stay).
One should remove (it) from the front (part of) the house by a half or
a third or a fourth or a fifth, lest the woman look at the fire, lest the
woman see the fire's flames.
3. O righteous Creator of the material world! How far from the fire?
How far from the water? How far from the strewn barssman? How far
from the righteous men?
4. Then Ahura Mazda said: Fifteen paces from the fire, fifteen paces
from the water, fifteen paces from the strewn barssman, three paces
from the righteous men.
5. O righteous Creator of the material world! How far away should one
stand who brings food to the woman who has her menstrual period, her
menstruation, her blood?
6. Then Ahura Mazda said: He who brings food to the woman who has
her menstrual period, her menstruation, her blood should stand three
paces away.
In what should he bring the food? In what should he bring the beer?
In either an iron or a lead (bowl) [the basest metals].
7. How much food should he bring? How much beer should he bring?
 174 I Purity and Pollution

Two portions of bread, two portions of alcoholic drink, lest the

woman waste away.
If a baby should come in contact (with her), one should first wash its
[the baby's] hands, (then the other parts) of its own body (polluted by
contact with the mother).
8. If the woman detects traces of blood when three nights have passed,
she should sit quietly in her place until four nights have passed.
If the woman detects traces of blood when four nights have passed,
she should sit quietly in her place until five nights have passed.
9-10. [Repetition of the same formula up to the ninth night.]
11. If the woman detects traces of blood when nine nights have passed,
then (it is the case that) the daewas are bringing her (their) antagonism
for the worship and praise of the daewas.
In this case, the Mazdean should pick out an area without plants and
shrubs (which can be used as) fuel.
12. There the Mazdeans should dig out three holes in the earth. They
should wash her with cow's urine at two holes, with water at one.
[A grammatically unclear sentence follows, enjoining the killing of
xrafstras in summer and winter.]
13. (If) a Mazdean should violate the period of a woman who has her
menstrual period, her menstruation, her blood, what is his punishment?
Then Ahura Mazda said: On account of him being pasho.tanu one
should flog (him) with two hundred lashes of the horsewhip, two hun-
dred of the sraosho.carana.
14. O righteous Creator of the material world! What is the punishment
for (a man) who, by a premeditated act, has contact with the body of a
woman who has her menstrual period, her menstruation, her blood, so
that . . . ( ? )
15. Then Ahura Mazda said: For the first time that he has sexual rela-
tions, for the first time that he lies down (with her), one should flog
(him) with thirty lashes of the horsewhip, with thirty of the sraosho.car-
ana.
For the second time . . . fifty lashes. . . .
For the third time . . . seventy lashes. . . .
16. What is the punishment for (a man) who for a fourth time has sexual
relations, for a fourth time lies down (with her), who penetrates (her)
clothes, who penetrates (her) defiled loins without ejaculating semen?
17. He who ejaculates semen into a woman who has her menstrual
period, her menstruation, her blood, is no better than one who commits
an act whereby he would cook the corpse of his own son on a spit (?)
(and) offer (his) fat to the fire.
 Yima I 175

18. All (these are) followers of the Lie, the Lie incarnate, who have
disrespect for the teacher. All those who disrespect the teacher are
disobedient. All those who are disobedient are not ashawans. All who
are not ashawans are tanu.pardthu.
Asham wohu . . . [Repeat prayer (p. 183).]

16. Yima
Yima has already appeared in numerous places (e.g., Y. 9.5 [p. 152] and
Yt. 19.31-38 [pp. 90-91]). It is now time to examine closely this com-
plex and important figure. At the outset, one must be reminded that, as in
so many cases, the Avesta does not provide one with a simple, primitive
myth, but develops a complicated mythic complex whose component
parts betray a multiplicity of origins and also of interrelated though
variant themes.
It is a firmly established fact that the myth of Yama (Av Yima) is
proto-Indo-European in origin. Not only does he appear in the Indian
sources from the Rgveda onward, as Yama the first mortal and then king
of the dead, but also in Scandinavian mythology as the giant Ymir and in
Roman legend as Remus. For the reconstruction of the Indo-European
myth, I am indebted to B. Lincoln's excellent study.48 Yama means 'twin'
(IE *yemo) and as such he had a brother whose name we may recon-
struct as *Manu. The world begins with these two, Twin and Man, the
first king and the first priest. In the course of events Man sacrifices Twin,
with the result that from Twin's dismembered body Man creates the
cosmos. There is also a primordial Bovine who, in the Indo-European
version, suckles the twins, whereas in the Indo-Iranian version she or he
is also sacrificed in order to produce animals and plants. The ramifications
of the basic myth in Iran alone are manifold, as it was the subject of
considerable reinterpretation.
In the Avesta and, indeed, throughout Iranian literary history, Yima is
primarily celebrated as the first king, king of the golden age. Under his
rule men and animals did not die, plants did not wither, and there was an
abundance of food. Water was plentiful. Although people reproduced, no
one seems to have advanced beyond the ideal age of fifteen years. Unfor-
tunately, Yima's paradisiacal kingdom, where there were extremes nei-
ther of heat nor of cold, did not endure forever. There occurred a "fail."
According to Vendidad 2, this took place after nine hundred years; and,
according to Yt. 19.31, after "a very long time." The reasons for the fall
are at odds. Vend. 2.22 suggests that "the evil material existence" was at
 776 / Yima

fault, while Yt. 19.37 puts the blame on Yima himself in that he "intro-
duced falsehood [untrue speech] to his mind." The latter version (Yt.
19.33-38), substantiated not only by later popular tradition, but also
reflected in Zarathushtra's (poorly understood) condemnation of Yima
(Y. 32.8), has the kingly Glory (Xwarsnah) flee from Yima to become the
object of contest between Aryan and non-Aryan forces.
The other version recounted in Vendidad 2 requires particular atten-
tion. The text, though it obviously contains much archaic material, is
betrayed as the work of late, probably Arsacid, redactors by its degener-
ate use of the language and its excessive Zoroastrianization. Be that as it
may, the first part of the chapter (through st. 19) preserves a cosmogonic
motif of the successive overpopulation of the earth and subsequent ex-
pansion until it has reached the size it now is. It is interesting to note, in
the light of the Indo-European myth, that Yima refuses to become a
propagator of the faith. Instead he chooses to be king and to prosper in the
world. He accepts two tokens of what might appear to be royalty, but
which in fact are pieces of cattle-herding equipment, a goad and a whip.
These, coupled with his standing epithet 'rich in herds', show that what
one has here and in what follows is a remnant of an archaic pastoralist
myth. The second part of the myth, which involves the construction of
something called a wara, has been subject to the most diverse interpreta-
tions. One should first try to understand as best we can what the text says.
Sts. 20-21 are fairly clear. At the time of the final overpopulation and
expansion of the earth, Ahura Mazda and Yima call a joint assembly for
gods and men. Ahura Mazda then goes on to tell the assembled gods and
men that, because of the evil in the world, terrible winters will come to
disrupt the temperate weather of Yima's realm (st. 22). As a result, a third
of the livestock will die (st. 32). St. 24, I believe, has been generally
misinterpreted. It is generally understood to mean that such floods will
result from the spring runoff that one will be fortunate to be able to see a
footprint anywhere. I read it as simple pastoralist poetry describing the
abundance of grass watered by the spring runoff and the pleasure experi-
enced at seeing the footprints of sheep in the thawed ground. Next, Yima
is instructed to build a wara (sts. 25-26). The purpose of the wara is clear
enough; it is to be a place of habitation for men and a barn for animals to
protect them from the cold and snow. Hay is also to be stored up there for
the winter. In what resembles the Noah's ark myth, couples of the best of
the representative species of animals and plants, as well as couples of the
best people, are to populate the wara. A stream is to flow through it. The
building instructions are, unfortunately, not clear at all, except that the
wara is to be three-storied and four-sided, and to have the dimensions of a
cardtu (a measure borrowed from horse racing, meaning a full round of a
 Yima I 177

course, approximately seven furlongs) per side. When Yima asks how he
is to make the wara, Ahura Mazda tells him to kick away "some of this
earth" with his heels (sts. 31-32). The next instruction is unclear. The
verb, which occurs only here, has been etymologized as being related
either to a verb 'to dig' (OInd khan-) or to a verb 'to chew, eat' (OInd
khdd-). If one likes the idea that the wara was a cave of some sort, then
'dig' gains favor. If one is not a priori dedicated to the cave theory, then
'knead' becomes worthy of consideration, since kneading clay with the
hands is a perfectly normal practice,49 whereas making a large excavation
with one's hands is not. The nature, number, and arrangement of the
entrances is also a problem. The word used (psrstu-) means in a general
sense "crossing', but can indicate a bridge just as well as a ford. The
number of entrances for each story, being in multiples of three, is at odds
with the quadrangular shape. If there were an attempt at symmetry, how
were the entrances arranged? St. 30 also mentions a door (dwarom) which
was self-luminous, but the text seems to be mutilated here. A redactor
saw fit to gloss dwaram with raocanam 'window', yet failed to supply a
subject or a verb. Most modern interpreters have assumed on the basis of
context that the verb apt- mar9z- must mean something like 'put, install,
furnish' and so translate as: 'install a door in the wara'. Of course, this is
impossible, as marsz- always has the basic meaning 'wipe, rub, clean' in
Iranian. Thus the phrase about the door either has no verb, or api- maraz-
carries over to this phrase, which would then mean 'polish the
door . . .'. Just as mysterious as the self-luminous door are the "lights"
(i.e., stars) and the sun and moon (sts. 39-40). One assumes that somehow
these were inside the wara during the long hibernations. Finally, sts. 41-43
imply, though somewhat ambiguously, that the duration of the hiberna-
tion was long indeed and is probably not over yet. This accords well with
the later-attested Sasanid eschatology concerning the wara.
The richly suggestive nature of this myth leads to a number of analyses.
There is an obvious Sintflut (universal inundation) motif present. As soon
as one substitutes 'flood' for 'snow', the myth of a high god telling a man
of impending disaster and the steps he must take to avoid it, becomes all
too clear. Another motif is that of a paradise or Elyseum for the elect.
Inside the wara everyone lives "a most beautiful life." There is also an
eschatological motif at least paralleled in, if not the source of, i\\o,fimbul-
vetr, the terrible winter attendant upon the Ragnarok of Scandinavian
mythology. When one stops to consider that the myth of Yima's wara as it
exists is late enough to have been shaped by any number of outside
influences as well as internal theological developments, I see no reason to
reject the validity of these influences. Nevertheless, behind these there
lies a simpler kernel rooted in the realities of the pastoralist yearly cycle.
 178 I Yima

As I have noted, Yima is specifically a pastoralist in addition to being

first man and king. Typologically he fits well the common mythological
role of the "culture hero," usually a semidivine being or man whose
actions provide the paradigms by which men live. He is the one to have
taught mankind how to live and survive in the world. In geographical
areas that experience extremities of seasonal changes in weather, pastor-
alist life is regulated by a pattern of spring-summer-fall nomadism and
winter sedentarism. The unending movement to new pastures in summer
contrasts with the sedentary struggle against snow, cold, and lack of
fodder in winter. For this sort of seminomadic pastoralisrn, the welfare of
animals and men depends on the ability to endure the hardships of winter.
Now, it seems that at the root of Vend. 2.22-41 is a myth about the
building of the first winter shelter at the end of the wonderful age of
perpetual pleasant weather and prosperity. This original myth dealing
with a yearly cycle, later misunderstood out of context, underwent a
number of reinterpretations, the most significant of which was the trans-
position from a yearly to a cosmic cycle as part of Zoroastrian eschatolo-
gy-
In closing this long commentary, we should point out that the Rgveda
confirms the interpretation of the wara as a shelter for animals and men.
There is a Vedic myth, part of a cycle of cattle-raiding myths, about the
vala (< *vara 'enclosure') where certain people (the Panis), hostile to the
gods Brhaspati, Indra, and the Angirases, have their cows penned up.
This vala is called in the most specific terms 'a cattle stall' (e.g., RV
3.30.10). It is usually portrayed as a rock cave and has walls around it (cf.
RV 1.52.5). With their magic powers the gods destroy the enclosure and
drive away the cows which they have thus stolen (see RV 10.67.6, "Indra
. . . stole the cows"). In addition to the cows, the vala also contains the
sun and the stars (rocana). It is hard to believe that this has nothing to do
with the presence of the sun, (moon), and stars (raoca) in Yima's wara
(sts. 39-40), though the connection is obscure.

Vendiddd 2
1. Zarathushtra asked Ahura Mazda: O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent
Spirit, creator of the material world, righteous! To whom among men
did you, Ahura Mazda, first talk, other than to me, Zarathushtra? To
whom did you teach the ahuric Zoroastrian Religion?
2. Then Ahura Mazda said: O righteous Zarathushtra, I, Ahura Mazda,
first talked to him among men, handsome Yima rich in herds, other than
you, Zarathushtra. I first taught him the ahuric Zoroastrian Religion.
3. Then I, Ahura Mazda, said to him, O Zarathushtra: Prepare yourself,
 Yima I 179

O handsome Yima, son of Wlwahwant, (to be) the rememberer and

bearer of the Religion.
Then he, handsome Yima, answered me, O Zarathushtra: I have
been neither created as nor taught to be a rememberer and bearer of
the Religion.
4. Then I, Ahura Mazda, said to him, O Zarathushtra: If, O Yima, you
are not prepared to be the rememberer and bearer of the Religion, then
prosper my world, then augment my world. Then stand ready as protec-
tor and guardian and overseer of my world.
5. Then he, handsome Yima, answered me, O Zarathushtra: I shall
prosper your world, I shall augment your world. I shall prepare myself
to be the protector and guardian and overseer of your world. In my
kingdom there will be neither cold wind nor hot, neither sickness nor
death.
6. Then I, Ahura Mazda, gave him two pieces of equipment: a golden
goad and a whip adorned with gold.
7. [Obscure.]
8. Then Yima's rule lasted three hundred years (lit. three hundred win-
ters came to Yima's rule).
Then the earth became for him (too) full of livestock and draft ani-
mals and men and dogs and birds and blazing red fires. They did not find
space (enough)—livestock and draft animals and men.
9. Then I informed Yima: Handsome Yima, son of Wlwahwant, the
earth is (too) full through the crowding of livestock and draft animals
and men and dogs and birds and blazing red fires. They do not find
space (enough)—livestock and draft animals and men.
10. Then about midday Yima went into the lights along the sun's path.
He drove this earth with the golden goad. He lashed her with the whip
saying, "Dear Spsnta Armaiti, go forth and spread out, O Bearer of
livestock and draft animals and men!"
11. Then Yima made this earth expand to one-third larger than before.
They made their home here—livestock and draft animals and men—
according to their own will and pleasure [in whatever way was his
pleasure].
12-14. Then Yima's rule lasted six hundred years.
Then the earth became for him (too) full. . . [continue with sts. 8-10
from". . . of livestock"].
15. Then Yima made the earth expand to two-thirds larger than before.
They made their home here . . . [continue with st. 11 from "—live-
stock"].
 180 I Yima

16-18. Then Yima's rule lasted nine hundred years.

Then the earth became for him (too) full . . . [continue, repeating
sts. 8-10 as above].
19. Then Yima made the earth expand to three-thirds larger than before.
They made their home here . . . [continue wtih st. 11 as above].
20. The Creator, Ahura Mazda, together with the spiritual deities, set up
an assembly—[Ahura Mazda who is] renewed in Aryana Waejah of the
good Daitya.
Regal Yima of rich herds, together with the best men, set up an
assembly—[Yima who is] renowned in Aryana Waejah of the good
Daitya.
21. To that assembly came the Creator Ahura Mazda, together with the
spiritual deities—[Ahura Mazda who is] renowned in Aryana Waejah of
the good Daitya.
To that assembly came regal Yima of rich herds, together with the
best men—[Yima who is] renowned in Aryana Waejah of the good
Daitya.
22. Then Ahura Mazda said to Yima: O handsome Yima, son of
Wlwahwant, winters will come upon the evil material world, on
account of which (will come) the hard, crushing (?) frost. Winters will
come upon the evil world on account of which, from the first, it will
snow snows from the highest mountains to the valleys (?) of Aradwi.
23. And a third of the livestock will survive here, (namely) what will be
in the most terrible of places and what will be on the mountain tops and
what (will be) in the river valleys, in roofed stalls.
24. Before this winter (sets in,) the land will bear grass. Much water will
flow (?) to it (i.e., the grass) after the (spring) runoff of snow. And, O
Yima, it seems to be wonderful here for material life when one can see
the foot(prints) of the sheep.
25. Then make the wara the length of a carstu on each of its four sides.
Thereupon, bring in the seed of (each kind of) livestock and draft ani-
mals and men and dogs and birds and blazing red fires.
Then make the wara the length of a carstu on each of its four sides for
the habitation of men; (and make it) the length of a caratu on each of its
sides as a barn for cattle.
26. Thereupon have water flow forth (into the wara) along a course the
size of a hathra.
Thereupon store up hay.
[Always (this food) yellow in color, always (this food), undimin-
ishing, is eaten.]
 Yima I 181

Thereupon set up houses [and a storeroom (?) and a portico (?) and a
veranda (?) and a garden (?)].
27. Thereupon assemble the seed of all men and women who are the
largest and the best and the most beautiful of this earth.
Thereupon assemble the seed of all species of livestock who are the
largest and the best and the most beautiful of this earth.
28. Thereupon assemble the seed of all plants which are the tallest and
most fragrant of this earth.
Thereupon assemble the seed of all foods which are the best tasting
and most fragrant of this earth.
Make those (become) couples so that their seed will be inexhaustible
as long as these men are in the structures (?).
29. (Let) not (enter) here (the following): neither a chicken-breasted
(person) nor a hunchback nor . . . ( ? ) nor a fool nor a . . . (?) nor a
deceiver (?) nor a (woman) with an itch (?) nor a spasmodic nor one
without teeth nor a leper who has been outcaste nor yet any other of
(those so) marked who belong to Angra Mainyu.
30. In the first area make nine entrances, in the middle six, in the lowest
three. Assemble the seed of a thousand men and women in the first
(area in the nine) entrances, in the middle six hundred, in the lowest
three hundred. Drive those (couples) into the wara with the golden goad
and clean the wara. . . . a door [window] shining by itself from within.
31. Then Yima thought: How shall I ever make the wara which Ahura
Mazda told me about?
Then Ahura Mazda said to Yima: Handsome Yima, son of
Wlwahwant, with (your) heels kick away some of this earth. Knead (?)
it with your hands just as now men mix (?) soft clay.
32. Then Yima did just as Ahura Mazda had required him (to do). He
kicked away some of this earth with his heels. He kneaded (?) it with his
hands just as now men mix (?) soft clay.
33. Then Yima made the wara the length of a carotu on each of its four
sides. Thereupon he brought in ... [continue with st. 25, making
necessary changes].
34. Thereupon he made water flow . . . [continue with st. 26 as above].
35. Thereupon he assembled the seed of all men and women . . . [con-
tinue with st. 27 as above].
36. Thereupon he assembled the seed of all plants . . . [continue with
st. 28 as above].
37. (There entered) not here (the following): neither a chicken-breasted
(person) . . . [continue with st. 29 as above]
 182 I Yima

38. In the first area he made nine entrances . . . [continue with st. 30 as
above].
39. O righteous Creator of the material world, what then were these
lights, O righteous Ahura Mazda, which shine in such a way in these
structures (?) which Yima made.
40. Then Ahura Mazda said: (They were the) autonomous lights and the
material (lights). Only once (a year) does one see the stars [and the
moon and the sun] in their setting and rising.
41. And they consider a.day to be a year.
After forty years, from two people were born two people, a couple
(consisting of) a woman and a man, as (also) among those which be-
longed to the species of animals. And those people lived a most beauti-
ful life in the structures (?) which Yima made.
42. Righteous Creator of the material world! Who then propagated the
Mazdean religion in the structures (?) which Yima made?
Then Ahura Mazda said: (It was) the Karshiptar bird,50 O Spitamid
Zarathushtra.
43. Righteous Creator of the material world! Who is their ahu and ratu?
Then Ahura Mazda said: Urwatat.nara, O Zarathushtra, and you,
Zarathushtra."

17. Miscellanea: Sacred Prayers

In the reading selections, three sacred prayers, occurring frequently, have
been identified with their opening words, namely: the Yenghe hatam, the
Yatha ahu wairyo (Ahuna wairya), and the Asham wohu. In addition to
these, another formula of worship has been identified as Ny. 1.16. The
sacred prayers are in the Gathic dialect, but there is doubt that they are
Zarathushtra's compositions. Although they are extremely obscure in
meaning and seem to have functioned basically as "mantras," I have
thought it necessary to give an approximate rendering in English. The
formula identified as Ny. 1.16, ending with the Yenghe hatam, is in Young
Avestan. It occurs at the end of the Kardahs (sections) of the Yashts.
Yenghe hatam
We worship the (male) and the (female) (Entities) in the worship of which
Entities Ahura Mazda knows what is good according to Truth.
 Miscellanea: Sacred Prayers I 183
Yathd ahu wairyo (Ahuna wairya)
As an ahu is to be chosen, so a ratu (is to be chosen) in accordance even
with Truth, (as) the implementer of the deeds of Good Mind; and Ahura
Mazda's Dominion over life (is to be chosen) which is given as shepherd
to the poor.
Ash^m wohu
Truth (is) good, it is Best Truth. According to (our) wish it is, according to
our wish it shall be. Truth belongs to Best Truth.
Ny. 1.16
On account of X's* rayi and xwaranah, I shall worship him/her/them with
audible worship, X with libations. We worship X with haoma containing
milk, with barasman, with skill of tongue and with thought (mathra), and
with speech and action and libations and with correctly uttered words.
Yenghe hatam.

*With the substitution of X for Hwaraxshaeta.

 Notes

1. Here I follow the classification of I. Gershevitch, The Avestan Hymn to Mithra

(Cambridge, 1959).
2. I shall use the word 'cow' throughout in a generic sense to cover cows, bulls, oxen,
and heifers. This is in keeping, with the ancient texts, which use the cognate word gaw-,
which is feminine in gender, to refer to bovines in general.
3. The controversy is focused mainly on the question of the so-called tripartite structure
of society. The literature is extensive and I refer the reader only to G. Dumezil, L'ideologie
tripartie des indo-europeens (Bruxelles, 1958). The theory was ably discussed and criticized
recently by J. Gonda, Triads in the Veda (Amsterdam, 1976), pp. 125-205.
4. Here I support the thesis of L. DeVries, Vedic rta- and asa, doctoral dissertation,
University of Minnesota, 1979, against the one-sided interpretation of H. Liiders, Varunna
(Gottingen, 1951-1959), though I translate asa contextually as 'Truth', rather than etymolog-
ically.
5. Histories 1.131.
6. See especially P. Thieme, Zeitschrift der deutschen Morgenldndischen Gesellschaft
107 (1957): 67-90.
7. M. Boyce, Zoroastrians (London, 1979), p. 18.
8. W. B. Henning, Zoroaster (Oxford, 1951), pp. 35^3.
9. Histories 1.132.
10. Journal of Indo-European Studies 3 (1975): 337-362.
11. The Gathas of Zarathustra (Tehran-Liege, 1975), pp. 141ff.
12. Indo-Iranian Journal 21 (1979): 104-113.
13. Cf. Rgveda 7.88.5-6.
14. The Gathas of Zarathustra pp. 251-252.
15. P. Thieme, Journal of the American Oriental Society 80 (1969): 308-309.
16. Perhaps some sort of curved or hooked weapon.
17. Identity unknown.
18. Die Religionen des alien Iran, 2nd ed. (Osnabriick, 1966).
19. Etudes mithriaques (Tehran/Liege, 1978), pp. 345-393.
20. Journal Asiatique 248 (1960): 421-430.
21. The Avestan Hymn to Mithra pp. 54-58.
22. Probably the plain of the upper Helmand river, dominated by the K6h-i Baba in
modern Afghanistan.
23. The region south of modern Merv.
24. The region around modern Samarkand and Bukhara.
25. The Oxus region south of the Aral Sea.

184
 Notes I 185
26. Journal Asiatique 271 (1953): 8-18.
27. The Avestan Hymn to Mithra, pp. 166ff.
28. In the Pahlavi texts it is the ratu offish, but its identity is unknown (sturgeon?).
29. A species of vulture, apparently with a ringneck.
30. The name seems to mean 'he who has wyambura as god'; that is, 'one who worships
wyambura' or perhaps 'he whose gods are wyambura.' Unfortunately, we cannot safely
even etymologize the word. The Wyambura daewas are mentioned only here.
31. Mythe et epopee, vol. Ill (Paris, 1973), pp. 21-89.
32. Perhaps a javelin.
33. W. F. Leemans, Ishtar of Lagaba and her Dress (Leiden, 1952).
34. Asiatica, Festschrift Friedrich Weller (Leipzig, 1954), pp. 404-413.
35. Although it is identified with Lake Urmia (northwestern Iran) in Pahlavi texts, it may
have been the Avestan name for the Aral sea.
36. Probably the mountains in the vicinity of Tashkent.
37. Identity unknown.
38. A History of Zoroastrianism I (Leiden, 1975), pp. 61-62.
39. See Yt. 10.104.
40. Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Sprachforschung 82 (1968): 37-61.
41. Identity unknown.
42. Perhaps the Oxus river.
43. Identity of both mountains unknown.
44. Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality (New York, 1968).
45. Duraosha, a standing epithet of Haoma, has never been satisfactorily explained,
although many ingenious suggestions have been made. My translation simply follows the
interpretation of the Pahlavi commentators.
46. Identity unknown.
47. See N. S. Nyberg, "La legende de Keresaspa," in Oriental Studies in Honour of
Cursetji Erachji Parvy (London, 1933), pp. 337-352.
48. History of Religions 15 (1975): 121-145.
49. Note that English 'make', German 'machen', etc., originally meant 'to knead'. The
general meaning 'make' derives from the importance of wattle-and-daub construction.
50. Probably some kind of hawk or other bird of prey.
 Glossary

Achaemenid. The Persian dynasty founded by Cyrus the Great (559 B.C.) and overthrown by
Alexander the Great (330 B.C.).
ahu. (1) A term used especially with reference to the religious community, meaning 'lord,
master', often found in conjunction with ratu; (2) one of the human "souls" (see
p. 104).
Airyana Waejah. The Aryan land, Iran.
Alburz. (1) The cosmic mountain, called either Haraiti or Hara Barazaiti; (2) an actual
mountain range in northern Iran.
Arazahi. See karshwar.
Arsacid. The Parthian dynasty, which dominated Iran from 247 B.C. to c. 226 A.D.
ashawan. A technical religious term meaning 'possessing, associated with Truth', used to
designate anyone or anything connected with Truth; often rendered in English as 'right-
eous'; opposite of drugwant.
Asto.widhatu. A demon of death.
athrawan. A general term for 'priest, clergy'.
avatara. Properly one of the ten incarnations of the Hindu god Visnu, used to designate any
established incarnation or manifestation of a god, e.g., Tishtrya, Warathraghna.
Bavri. Perhaps Babylon.
baga, bagha. A characteristically Persian word for 'god'.
baodhah. The faculty of consciousness, one of the human "souls" (see p. 104).
barasman. Originally, sacred grass or twigs strewn on the ground as a seat for the gods at the
sacrifice; later, a bundle of sticks or rods held by the priest during the ritual.
Brahmana. A member of the Hindu priestly caste; (2) a kind of later Vedic text dealing with
the symbolism and esoteric meaning of the sacrifice.
Bundahishn. A ninth-century Pahlavi text.
Bushyasta. Demoness of sloth, stupor, and sleepiness.
caratu. A term of measure borrowed from chariot racing; a complete circuit of the race-
course or about seven furlongs (see hathra).
Cista. A goddess of paths, both physical and spiritual; her name probably means 'Instruc-
tion'.
daena. (1) In the Gathas, the good Vision; in later Zoroastrianism, simply the word for the
Religion; (2) one of the human "souls" (see p. 104).
Dahaka. (1) A member of a Scythian tribe, the Daha; (2) an epithet of the daewa Azhi
Dahaka.
dahyuma. (1) The genius of the country; (2) the human ratu of the country.
Damoish Upamana. A curious deity who appears to be Warathraghna's alter ego.
Danu. A tribe of Scythians living along the Yaxartes river.

186
 Glossary I 187
Daitya. A sacred river in Airyana Waejah.
Denkard. A ninth-century Pahlavi text.
drugwant. Normalized spelling of Avestan dragwant, 'possessing, associated with the Lie';
opposite of ashawan.
Druj, Drug. (1) The Lie as archdemon whose opposite is Truth; (2) a word for 'demon'
(= daewa).
Fradadhafshu. See karshwar.
Frasho.karati. The name for the state at the end of time, when the forces of evil under Angra
Mainyu will be overcome and the kingdom of god established eternally; the literal meaning
is The Making Wonderful, Excellent', often translated as The Renovation'.
Gaya Maratan. The name of the first mortal.
Gaokarana. The name of a mythical cosmic tree.
Garo.nmana. The 'House of Song', i.e., heaven.
god. See baga and yazata.
Hapto.iringa. Ursa Major.
Hara. See Alburz.
Haraiti. See Alburz.
hathra. A measure equal to one-half a caratu, i.e., about three and one-half furlongs.
hawanan. The name of the particular priest in charge of the haoma-press (hawana).
kaidhya. A kind of evil person, perhaps the same as kayadha.
kardah. A section (given in the text in Roman numerals) or division of most Yashts.
karshwar. In Iranian cosmography the earth consists of seven continents (karshwar) as
follows: (1) Arazahl (west), (2) Sawahl (east), (3) Fradadhafshu (southeast),
(4) WIdadhafshu (southwest), (5) Wouru.barashti (northwest), (6) Wouru.jarashti (north-
east), (7) Xwaniratha (the central continent where Airyana Waejah is situated).
Kasaoya. The HamQn sea in Seistan.
kayadha. A type of evil person, perhaps 'astrologer'.
Khotanese. The Middle Iranian, Scythian (Saka) language of Khotan in Central Asia.
Kushan. The ruling dynasty of much of eastern Iran, Iranian Central Asia, and northwestern
India during the first to third centuries A.D.
Mahabharata. One of the great Indian epics.
mathra. Originally this word meant 'thought' or its verbal expression, that is, 'sacred utter-
ance'. In many contexts, however, it is best translated as '(magical) spell'. See also Spanta
Mathra and tanu.mathra.
Mazandaran. A region of northern Iran famous for its irreligion.
Muraka. Some sort of demonic being or person.
Median. (1) The first great Iranian dynasty, overthrown by Cyrus; (2) the language of Media,
preserved only in words and names attested to in other ancient languages.
Nairyo.saghha. A minor deity of prayer.
nmanya. (1) The genius of the house; (2) the human ratu of the house.
Nyayishn. A section of the Avesta, here abbreviated Ny.
Old Persian. The language of the Achaemenid inscriptions.
Pahlavi. The Middle Persian language of the later Zoroastrian texts.
pairika. Witch, sorceress.
Paoiryaenis. The Pleiades.
Parsndi. The goddess 'Plenitude'.
Parsis. The Zoroastrians who settled in India.
Paurwanya. A constellation of uncertain identity.
pasho.tanu. A legal term for certain grievous sins or the sinner; meaning 'whose body is
forfeit' (see tanu.psratha).
 188 I Glossary
Ramayana. One of the great Indian epics.
Rangha. A mythical river.
ratu. A term for 'judge' used especially in reference to the religious community; found often
in conjunction with ahu.
rayi. Avestan possessed two homonyms rayi meaning 'wealth, opulence' and 'insight'. The
word appears frequently in the phrase "on accout of/through X's rayi and xwarsnah
(glory)" where it is usually difficult to tell which meaning was intended. I have left the
word untranslated both to indicate the ambiguity and to emphasize that, as far as the
redactors of the Avesta were concerned, the phrase was little more than a meaningless
(though sacred) mantra.
Razishta Cista. See Cista.
Rgveda. The most ancient Indian text, containing one thousand seventeen hymns and dated
' c. 1300-900 B.C.
Sasanid. The dynasty that ruled Iran c. 226-651 A.D.
Satawaesa. Perhaps Fomalhaut.
Sawahl. See karshwar.
Sogdian. The Middle Iranian language spoken in the ancient province of Sogdiana.
Spanta Mathra. The Beneficent or Holy Word, the hypostatization of the divine revelation.
sraosha.carana. An instrument for inflicting punishment.
Staota Yesnya. A portion of the Yasna.
tanu.mathra. A technical term of uncertain meaning, perhaps 'whose body consists of
mathras,' used to describe certain holy persons and deities.
tanu.pdrstha. A technical legal term for a grievous sin punishable by two hundred lashes and
excommunication (see pasho.tanu).
Tishtryaeinis. Canis Minor.
Tura, Turanian. Originally probably a Scythian tribe, later applied to all Central Asian
nomads.
Upa.paoiri. 41 Arietis.
Urwatat.nara. Zarathustra's youngest son.
Ush.dam, Ushi.darana. Two names for a sacred mountain.
Vasistha. A Vedic poet-seer (rsi).
Wanant. Vega.
Warsna. Perhaps modern Buner, a district northeast of Peshawar, Pakistan. The name often
appears in an adjectival derivative wardnya 'coming from Warana'; in Pahlavi, however, it
is consistently glossed with waranig 'greedy, concupiscent'. It is difficult to know which is
meant in the Avesta. It may be that warsnya represents two homonyms.
warshna. Name of a kind of demonic being or person.
WIdadhafshu. See karshwar.
Wispe Ratawo. A section of the Avesta (= Visperad).
wisya. (1) The genius of the settlement; (2) the human ratu of the settlement.
Wouru.barashti. See karshwar.
Wouru.jarsshti. See karshwar.
Xwaniratha. See karshwar.
xrafstra. A term for noxious creatures—frogs, ants, spiders, etc., and especially snakes.
yazata. The common Zoroastrian term for 'god, deity' (see baga).
zantuma. (1) The genius of the tribe; (2) the human ratu of the tribe.
zarathushtrotama. The title of the highest ecclesiastic (?) authority.
 Bibliography

The following is a select bibliography. Extensive documentation can be found in M. Boyce's

History (Cited below) and B. Schlerath, Awesta-Worterbuch, Vorarbeiten I, Wiesbaden,
1968.
General Works
Boyce, M. A History ofZoroastrianism, vol. I, Leiden, 1975.
Duchesne-Guillemin, J. La religion de I'Iran ancien, Paris, 1962.
Frye, R. N. The Heritage of Persia, Cleveland, 1963.
Widengren, G. Die Religionen Irans, Stuttgart, 1965.
Zaehner, R. C. The Dawn and Twilight ofZoroastianism, London, 1961.

Old Iranian Religious Literature and Textual Criticism

Boyce, M. "Middle Persian Literature," Handbuch der Orientalistik, 1. Abt., 4. Bd., 2.
Abschn., Lf. 1, Leiden, 1968.
Geldner, K. F. Avesta, the Sacred Books of the Parsis, 3 vols., Stuttgart, 1889-96 (esp. the
Prolegomena).
Gershevitch, I. "Old Iranian Literature," Handbuch der Orientalistik.

Indo-Iranian Religion (in addition to the general works cited above)

Benveniste, E. Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-europeennes, 2 vols., Paris, 1969.
Dumezil, G. L'ideologie tripartie des Indo-Europeens, Bruxelles, 1958.
Gonda, J. Triads in the Veda, Amsterdam, 1976 (chpts. III-IV).
Thieme, P. "The 'Aryan' Gods of the Mitanni Treaties," Journal of the American Oriental
Society, 80, 1960.
Thieme, P. "Vorzarathustrisches bei den Zarathustriern und bei Zarathustra," Zeitschrift
der deutschen morgenldndischen Gesellschaft, 107, 1957.
De Vries, L. J. Vedic rtd- and Avestan asa- Dissertation, University of Minnesota, 1979.

Zarathushtrianism
Duchesne-Guillemin, J. The Western Response to Zoroaster, Oxford, 1958.
Dumezil, G. Naissance d'archanges, Paris, 1945.
Geiger, B. Die Amasa Spantas, Wien, 1916.
Henning, W. B. Zoroaster, Politician or Witch-doctor, London, 1951.
Lommel, H. Die Religion Zarathustras, Tubingen, 1930.
Nyberg, H. S. Die Religionen des alien Iran (reprint), Osnabriick, 1966.

189
 190 I Bibliography

The Reading Selections. (In addition to the handbooks,

H. Lommel, Die Vast's des Awesta, Gottingen, 1927, contains
excellent summaries of all the Yast's and Vendidad II. Where no
bibliography is given, consult these works.)
Ahura Mazda
Kent, R. G. Old Persian, New Haven, 1953.
Lommel, H. Die Religion Zarathustras, (1930).
Liiders, H. Varuna, 2 vols., Gottingen, 1951-59.
Thieme, P. "The 'Aryan' Gods" (1960).

Zarathushtra
Duchesne-Guillemin, J. The Hymns of Zarathustra, Boston, 1963.
Insler, S. The Gathas of Zarathustra, Tehran-Liege, 1975.

Mithra
Benveniste, E. "Mithra aux vastes paturages," Journal Asiatique, 248, 1960.
Gershevitch, I. The Avestan Hymn to Mithra, Cambridge, 1959.
Schmidt, H.-P. "Indo-Iranian Mitra Studies: the State of the Central Problem," Etudes
Mithriaques, Tehran/Liege, 1978.
Thieme, P. Mitra and Aryaman, New Haven, 1959.

Wsrsthraghna
Benveniste, E. & L. Renou, Vrtra et Vrthragna, Paris, 1934.
Xwarsnah
Bailey, H. W. Zoroastrian Problems in the Ninth-Century Books, Oxford, 1971.
Duchesne-Guillemin, J. "Le x v aranah," Annali dell'Istituto Orientate di Napoli, 5, 1963
Dumezil, G. Mythe et epopee, III, Paris, 1973.

Wayu
Wikander, S. Vayu I, Uppsala, 1941.

Frawashi's
Malandra, W. W. The Fravasi Yast, Dissertation University of Pennsylvania, 1971.
Modi, J. J. The Funeral Ceremonies of the Parsees, 2nd ed., Bombay, 1905.

Ardwl Sura Anahita

Weller, H. Anahita, Tubingen, 1938.

Tistrya
Forssman, B. "Apaosa, der Gegner des Tistria," Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Sprachfors-
chung, 82, 1968.
Henning, W. B. "An Astrological Chapter of the Bundahisn," Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society, 1942.
MacKenzie, D. "Zoroastrian Astrology in the Bundahisn," BSOAS, 27, 1964.
 Bibliography I 191

Haoma
Brough, J. "Soma and Amanita Muscaria," BSOAS, 34, 1971.
Gershevitch, I. "An Iranianist's View of the Soma Controversy," Memorial Jean de
Menasce, Louvain, 1974.
Wasson, R. G. Soma, divine mushroom of immortality, New York, 1968.

Vendidad
Darmesteter, J. Le Zend-Avesta, vol. 2, Paris, 1892 (pp. v-xxiv).

Yima
Christensen, A. Les types du premier homme et du premier roi, II, Leiden, 1934.
Hertel, J. Die Himmelstore im Veda und im Awesta, Leipzig, 1924.
Lincoln, B. "The Indo-European Myth of Creation," History of Religions, 15, 1975.
Mole, M. "La guerre des geants," Indo-Iranian Journal, 3, 1959.
 Index
Achaemenid: inscriptions, 4, 44-51, 88; Astwat.grata, 96
kings, see Artaxerxes, Cyrus, Darius, Asura, 13-14, 45,46
Xerxes Atar, 59, 159-61. See also Fire
Adityas, 20, 46 Athrawan, 8, 126
Aeshma, see Wrath Avatara, 81
Agriculture, 57, 141-42, 146, 147 Avesta(n), 4, 6, 16,25,27-31
Ahu: authority, 38, 55, 70; life soul, 104,
115 Baodhah,104, 115
Ahuna wairya, 95, 139 Bardiya, 48
Ahura(s), 13-14, 35, 46, 72, 103 Barasman, 15, 79, 108, 129, 135, i37, 161
Ahura Mazda (Ahuramazda), 18-23, 24, Barssnum, 163, 170-73
35-55, 76, 103, 113, 131, 137, 160ff. Beaver, 119, 130
Alexander the Great, 17, 30 Benveniste, E., 58, 81
Amarstat, 20, 54, 69 Boar, 67, 74
Amssha Spantas, 19-20, 35, 46, 65, 69, 75, Boyce, M., 136
90, 113, 131, 135-36 Brahman, 8
Amulets, 82, 85 Brahmana, 8, 9, 21
Anahita (Arsdwl Sura), 24, 47, 117-30, 131, Brhaspati, 136, 178
142 Buddha, 3
Ancestors, 103-5, 110 Buddhism, 3
Angirases, 105, 136, 178 Bushyasta, 70, 74
Angra Mainyu (Evil Spirit), 19, 22, 23, 53,
55, 70, 73, 92, 97, 98, 106, 112, 133, 140, Camel(s), 42, 44, 83
147, 152. See also Two Spirits Chaos, 11-12
Apam Napat, 89, 93, 115, 143, 147 Christ, 3
Apaosha, 140-43, 145-46 Christianity, 3, 4, 6, 17
Arsdwl Sura, see Anahita Cinwat-bridge, 104, 136
Armaiti, 20, 43, 54, 55, 69, 105 Cista, 73
Artaxerxes II, 24, 47, 55, 117; III, 55 Corpses, 162, 163, 164, 166, 167, 168
Arya(n), 6, 14, 29, 86, 87, 94, 106 Cosmic mountain, 11. See also Kara
Asha, see Truth Cosmic sea, 12. See also Wouru.kasha
Ashawan (righteous), 44 et passim Cosmogony, 10-11
Ashi, 64, 65, 66, 117, 130-35, 136, 137, 147, Cosmography, 11-12
155 Cosmology, 9-12
Asmo.xwanwant, 54 Cosmos, 11-12
Asto.widhatu, 70, 98, 166 Covenant, 56ff., 160. See also Mithra

192
 Index I 193
Cow(s), 7, 60, 63, 69, 83, 143, 155, 157, 158, Haecat.aspa, 17
176; Fashioner of, 18, 21; Lament of, Haoma(Soma), 15, 21-22, 69, 132, 151-58
35-39; Soul of, 18, 21; urine of, 164, 168 Haoshyangha Paradhata, 90, 98, 122
Creation, see Cosmogony Haosrawah, 95, 100, 123
Cyrus the Great, 16, 18, 23, 48 Hapto.iringa, 111, 144
Hara, HaraitI, 11, 65, 69, 122, 139
Daena: religion, 66, 69, 115, 121, 131, 139; Haurwatat, 20, 54, 69
soul, 37, 38, 112, 115; vision, 37, 38, 41, Hawanan, 69
43 Heaven, 9-11, 43, 97, 105, 107, 135
Daewa, 5, 13-14, 21, 24, 37, 38, 44, 47, 51, Herodotus, 14,24, 117, 118
65, 101, 103, 170 Hinduism, 4, 5, 21
Dahaka(s), 158; Azhi, 81, 88, 92-93, 96, 99, Holy Word (Mathra Spanta), 51, 54, 62, 79,
122, 152 113, 115, 132, 139
Daitya, 98 Horse(s), 42, 44, 60, 61, 64, 67, 73, 74, 83,
Damoish Upamana, 66, 67, 74, 79 85, 93, 95, 99, 120, 122, 124, 127, 128,
Danus, 109 129, 130, 133, 139, 141-42, 143, 145^6,
Darius I, 4, 24, 44-51, 55; III, 17 148, 158
Daxma(s), 163, 167, 170 Hospitality, 14-15
Death, 104-5 Hotar, 17
Denkard, 16, 26, 77 Hutaosa, 101
Dominion (Xshathra), 20, 39, 54, 69, 136 Hwaraxshaeta, 9. See also Sun
Drugwant(s), 40, 44 et passim Hydrology (rivers, rain, snow melt, etc.), 7,
Dualism, 11-14, 19-20, 22, 163-64 10, 11,57, 109, 110, 111, 117, 120,
Dumezil, G.,78, 89 141^2, 144ff., 163
Hymns, 15
Earth, 43,70, 105, 107, 163, 179
Entities, 19. See also Amasha Spantas India, 7, 23
Eschatology, 22-23, 177 Indo-Aryan(s), 4, 6, 9, 10
Indo-European(s), 6, 7, 36, 39, 84
Falcon, 82, 84, 85, 91 Indo-Iranian(s), 4, 6, 8, 9, 15
Falsehood, 13, 19ff., 24, 37. See also Lie Indra, 12,21, 57,81, 136, 178
Fire, 10, 15, 74, 89, 92-93, 159-61, 163, Insight, 103
164. See also Atar Insler, S.,37,42
Fire-worship, 3 Iran, 3, 5-6, 29
Frangrasyan, 88, 93-95, 123, 158 Iranian: language, 5, 6, 25; people, 4, 6;
Frashaoshtra, 18, 42 religion, 4, 5, 6, 26, 45
Frawashi, 59, 66, 102-17, 147 Ishtar, 118
Free-will, 20, 40 Islam, 3, 30, 135, 136
Funerary rites, 163, 166-68 Jamaspa, 18, 42, 125
Jesus,5
Gaokarana, 54 Judaism, 3, 22, 25
Gandarava, 91, 100 Judge, 56, 76. See also Rashnu, Ratu
Gathas, 16, 17, 27, 35-44, 135, 137, 157
Gathic, 27 Karapan, 18
Gaumata, 48 Karshwar(s), 60, 66, 74, 95
Gaya Maratan, 113-14 Kawi (Kavi), 18, 88, 94
Gershevitch, 81 Kayadha,61,138
Gnosticism, 3 Karssaspa, 82, 91, 100, 123, 152, 160
Good Mind (Wohu Manah), 20, 35, 38, 42, Kingship, 8, 29, 48-51, 56, 88, 107, 175
43, 44, 54, 69, 92, 97, 156 Kushan, 58
 194 I Index
Lie, 40, 41, 44, 47, 48, 50, 68, 106, 112, 163. Rangha, 71
See also Falsehood Rashnu, 56, 64, 68, 71, 73, 75, 76-80, 86,
Lincoln, B., 36, 175 105, 133, 136
Lommel, H., 119 Rathaeshta, 8. See also Warrior
Ratu, 38, 44, 55, 70, 137, 141, 148
Magus (Magi), 3, 8, 24, 25, 26, 29 Renovation (Frasho.karaiti), 104, 111
Mahabharata, 56 Rsi(s), 29
Manichaeism, 3, 58 Rudra-Shiva, 21
Maruts, 105
Media(n), 26, 29 Sacrifice (yajna, yasna), 14-16, 21, 27, 37,
Menstruation, 162, 163, 169, 173-74 87, 122, 150-51, 158, 159-61
Missionaries, 24ff. Saoshyant(s), 22-23, 89, 90, 96, 106, 131
Mithra (Mitra, Mihr), 9, 10, 24, 47, 55-75, SaraswatT, 119
86,91,97, 103, 105, 115, 136 Sasanid, 26, 30
Monotheism, 19 Satawaesa, 97, 109, 141, 144
Moon, 42, 75, 106, 143 Saurwa (Sharva), 21
Muhammad, 3 Schmidt, H-P., 37, 56
Scythians, 24, 49
Nairya Sangha, 65, 137 Sexuality, 131, 134-35, 164
Nanghaithya, 21 Social organization, 7-8
Naotarids, 101, 131, 134 Sondergotter, 9
Nasatya, 21 Soul, 43, 104-5, 112. See also Ahu,
Nasks, 26, 154 Baodhah, Urwan
Nasu Druj, 162-64, 169, 171, 172 Spells, 47, 53,54, 61,86, 101, 102
Nature-mythology, 8-9 Spanta Mainyu, 19, 20, 36, 41, 43, 54, 58,
Nebuchadrezzar, 48 66, 92, 98, 105, 106, 108, 149
Nietzsche, F., 3 Spies, 64
Nirangistan, 27 Sraosha, 57, 65, 70, 77, 115, 131, 133,
Noah's Ark, 5, 176 135-40, 155
Nomads, 6-7, 16 Stars, 106, 111, 141-43, 147, 148. See also
Nyberg, H. S., 55 Satawaesa, Tishtrya
Sun, 9, 42, 58, 60, 75, 89, 106, 113
Old Persian, 26, 45
Ordeals, 76, 79, 160 Taxma Urupi, 90, 99
Oxus, 49 Thraetaona, 81, 91, 96, 100, 122, 124
Thvorashtar, 36, 56. 58, 137
Pahlavi, 26 TIr, 140, 142
Pairikas, see Witches Tishtrya, 9, 75, 82, 97, 140-49
Parandi, 66, 147 Truth, 11-13, 19ff., 25, 35, 38, 42, 43, 44,
Parsis, 3, 50 46, 69, 92, 136, 156, 163
Pasturalism, 6, 7, 176-78 Turan, 22, 109, 124. See also Frangrasyan
Persia (Persis, Parsa), 26, 29, 50 Tvastr, 36
Plato, 3,17 Twins, 19, 22, 39-40
Pollution, 162-75 Two Spirits, 39-40, 106, 113, 138, 153, 157
Pourushaspa, 17, 121, 153
Priest(hood), 8, 17-18, 69 Urwan, 104-5
Purity, 162-75
Varuna, 20, 41, 45-46, 55, 57,78-79
Rajanya, 8 Vasistha, 36, 41,45
Ramayana, 36 Vedas, 4, 29, 37, 45, 55, 105, 136, 150
 Index I 195
Vendidad, 25, 26, 27, 162-75
Visnu, 78, 81
Visvamitra, 36
Vrtra, 12,80-81, 143
Wara, 5, 176-78, 180-82
Warfare, 7, 23, 36, 59, 60, 63, 64, 65, 71,
86, 103, 108, 110
Warrior(s), 8, 42, 57, 103, 107
Wata, 9, 10,81,97, 147
Wayu, 9, 10, 81,.97-102, 104, 166
Weapons, 53, 61, 63, 64, 70, 71, 72, 74, 110,
112, 139
Warsthraghna, 66, 67, 80-88, 97
Wlshtaspa, 18, 23, 36, 42, 50 (Darius'
father), 96, 101, 115, 128, 129, 131, 135
Witches, 62, 141, 144, 147, 149
Wohu Manah, see Good Mind
Women, 7, 62, 95, 101, 120, 126, 132, 135,
157
Worship, see Sacrifice
Wouru.kasha, 88, 93, 94, 103, 111, 120,
123, 141. 144ff., 163
Wrath, 22. 38, 55, 74, 92, 137, 140, 156
Xerxes, 4, 24, 47,55, 117
Xusrou I, 30
Xwaranah, 58, 60, 66, 74, 82, 88-97, 103,
111, 147
Yashts, 27
Yasna, 27. See also Sacrifice
Yima (Yama), 5, 82. 88, 90-91, 99, 122,
152, 175-82
Zaotar, 17,21,69, 135
Zarathushtra (Zoroaster), 3, 17ff., 23, 24,
25,35-44, 109,111, 114, 121, 134,
136-37, 151
Zarathushtrianism, 4, 16ff., 25
Zoroastrianism, 3, 4, 17, 23-26
William W. Malandra earned a B.A. in philosophy
at Haverford College, an M.A. in religious studies
at Brown University, and his doctorate in
Indo-Iranian studies at the University of
Pennsylvania. He is an associate professor of
South Asian languages at the University of
Minnesota, where he also serves as chairman of
the program in religious studies.